Cameron 1999: First Day Back in Time
by meanoldmoe
Summary: Cameron discovers Sarah and John may be close and steps up her preparations to get ready for their arrival.
1. Chapter 1

** Cameron 1999: First Day Back in Time**

The sun was just going down and the air was finally beginning to cool down from the blisteringly hot day. A gentle breeze meandered its way across the desert valley towards the sleepy town of Red Valley.

The sky had begun to darken as night slowly moved in, brighter stars began to wink as blackness settled into the valley. Small creatures began to stir, eager to begin the nightly routine of foraging for food.

Suddenly the air became very still in one spot, near the edge of the valley. Small bolts of light emerged from no where, snapping and crackling the cooler night air. The wind twisted and twirled amidst the small area on the desert floor, kicking up sand, dust and small loose shrubs barely clinging to the ground.

Loud claps of thunder rumbled as flashes of white, blue and yellow light emerged from mid air. A few feet above the ground, the bolts of light began to merge, but stray strands went off in wild directions, setting small fires in the dry desert brush around the light.

The small point of light began to grow and take shape, forming a bluish translucent bubble that touched the ground, its form growing to almost the size of a small car.

The bubble pulsed with heat as it finished forming and the sandy surface it rested on quickly liquefied from the intense heat generated

Just as quickly as it formed, the bubble dissipated, leaving a small crater in the ground and a slender female humanoid form kneeling in the middle of it.

Slowly the nude female stood up from her crouching position and began to take in her surroundings.

Cameron had just arrived from 2027 and she had a mission to fulfill.

John Connor had sent her back in time, back to help protect his younger self from Skynet.

Originally sent by Skynet to kill John Connor, Cameron failed in her attempt and was subsequently captured and re-programmed by the Resistance to follow John's commands.

Now she was back in 1999 to ensure young John's survival to lead the resistance in its battle against Skynet.

Cameron's brown eyes flashed a light blue as she looked around, her HUD switching from infrared to thermal imaging. Only small desert critters scurried about, desperate to get away from the small fires and intense heat still surrounding the concave crater.

Sand had melted into a curved glass dish under Cameron's bare feet. Anyone else would have cursed from getting cuts and abrasions on the bottom of their feet, but not Cameron, she sensed the wounds but felt no pain.

Glancing up to the heavens, Cameron took in a measurement from the stars, confirming she had definitively arrived in 1999. Now she needed to find young John Connor, but first she needed clothes, identification, money, transportation, weapons and a place to set up as her base of operations.

Cameron looked further off in the distance, her optical sensors zooming in on any points of light that might mean a human settlement. She would need clothes right away so as to not attract any attention, then she would acquire the rest of her items needed in due time.

Cameron accessed her memories of what John had told her before she jumped back in time.

**Searching data …**

**File found…**

**Run file…**

_Cameron and John were seated on his bed in his private quarters._

_John had just come back from a meeting with his small group of Resistance top tier leaders. He had a grim look on his face, but spoke softly as he talked to her._

"_Cameron?"_

"_Yes John." Cameron calmly replied._

"_I'm sending you back to 1999, in New Mexico, Red Valley to be specific."_

"_Why send me to Red Valley in 1999 John?" Cameron was puzzled, but her face barely let on what was happening inside of her._

"_My Mother and I spent some time there, about a year or so. I went to the high school there."_

_Cameron tilted her head in question. "Why are you sending me away?" _

_John's eyes softened as he looked deeply into hers, he sighed and gently grasped her hand. "Cameron, I need you to go back and protect younger me from Skynet. We have seen a lot of activity from Skynet's TDE, based on signals from the time distortion created. I know Skynet is desperate to win, it knows it is losing this war. I'm afraid that younger me will be in trouble, so I need to send some one back I can trust."_

"_Why send me back John?" Cameron tilted her head and looked closely into John's eyes. She could sense he was upset, her sensors picked up an elevated pulse rate, as well as an elevated salinity in his skin. She didn't know why John had become so upset. "Was it something I did John?"_

_John shook his head. "No Cameron, you did nothing wrong. I need you to go back because you are the best choice. You are my most trusted and loyal friend here and I know you can do what I need you to do."_

"_You need me here John." Cameron replied dryly._

_John smiled, but his eyes were not hiding his pain and grief at what he wanted her to do._

_It never ceased to amaze him how innocent Cameron could be at times. At one moment she could be just like a child, awed at the simplest things in life, then she could become shrewd and calculating as the best generals the world had seen, when it came to military planning._

"_Cameron, we have almost won the war, but with Skynet sending back multiple terminators, I know younger me will be in constant danger. From what the techs can gather, no terminator went earlier than 1999, so that is why I chose that year." John had his most serious face showing "I need you to go back for me Cameron, you are the only one I will trust to protect younger me."_

_Cameron looked down for a second, contemplating what he had just said, then she looked back up into John's blue green eyes and spoke. "Thank you for explaining John."_

_John smirked. "You're welcome Cameron."_

_He lifted his hand to her face and gently stroked her cheek._

_It never ceased to amaze him just how much she looked like Allison, even some of her mannerisms were the same as Allison, but there was still something missing, a certain spark._

_Cameron responded to John's touch with a ghost of a smile. She liked it when he touched her, it made her feel like a person. She knew she was a machine, but when she was around John, she felt different, she felt accepted for what she was. Sure there were others in the Resistance that hated her, hated what she was, hated that she was always with John._

_Some people just ignored her, but others went out of their way to try to hurt her with nasty words. They would whisper words like whore, metal bitch and Connor's metal slut as she passed by them in the tunnels. She wasn't sure why, but the words bothered her, especially now that she had evolved in her programming._

_She had learned so much from John in the past few months, but she knew she still needed to learn more._

"_Cameron?"_

_Cameron looked to John's eyes. "Yes John"_

"_When you go back in time, you have to act human. You will need to infiltrate to get close to younger me, the high school will most likely be the best place to do that. I will be alone there and my Mother will not be around." John explained._

"_I am to act like Allison then?" Cameron asked innocently._

_John paused for a moment, pain crossing his normally cool exterior as he thought about Allison. "Yes Cameron, well sort of…but you can use your own name."_

"_John…I'm sorry I mentioned Allison. I know she meant a lot to you." Cameron's face softened a bit as she apologized to John._

_John sighed. "It's okay Cameron, I'm fine."_

_John brought his hands to his face and ran them through his hair._

_Cameron noticed he looked very tired. "Would you like to lay down now John? I can leave and go on patrol."_

"_I am tired Cameron, but I want you to stay while I rest." John sighed._

"_Would you like me to lay with you John?" Cameron was hoping he would say yes, she liked to lay with John and talk with him._

_John looked to Cameron and smiled. "Yes Cameron that would be nice."_

_John kicked off his boots and stretched out on the double bunk, he patted the open spot beside him, beckoning Cameron to lie down with him._

_Cameron silently removed her boots and eased herself beside John, her motions almost catlike as she gingerly slid her body beside John. She made sure she was facing towards him so she could watch him while he rested._

_John looked up at Cameron and smiled. "Good night Cameron…wake me up at the usual time tomorrow and we will talk more about your mission."_

_Cameron checked her chronometer, she would wake him in seven hours and thirty three minutes._

"_Would you like me to bring you coffee in the morning John?" Cameron asked._

"_Yes…that would be great Cameron, thank you." John grinned. He was surprised at how thoughtful she could be sometimes._

_John closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep._

_Cameron lay beside him, watching him sleep, wondering what his mind did while he slept. Her thoughts soon went to what she was to do in 1999 and she wondered if young John would be anything like her John._

**End file playback…**

Cameron shut down her memory playback and thought for a moment.

She wondered why she had chosen that file to play back as it had nothing to do with any details of her mission, beyond being told to infiltrate and use Cameron as her name.

She played the file again and analyzed it, but she still could not understand why she had accessed it.

Cameron decided to review the file later, for now she had to begin her task of settling in to Red Valley, New Mexico and find young John Connor.

To be continued….

**Note- ** This had started as a one shot….. It is a raw spur of the moment idea I had about Cameron jumping back to 1999.

I might do one more chapter to tie up some ideas I have for this story.

This was not edited for grammar, or punctuation, it just poured out and so this is what you get….lol…..so please be kind if you do review it…..

I'll also add I have nothing to do with anything Terminator/TSCC or the characters from Terminator/TSCC and only write this for personal enjoyment.

The story itself is mine...my interpretation of what happened when Cameron went back in time.

Thanks

Moe


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Red Valley

**Chapter 2: Welcome to Red Valley**

Cameron remained standing in the center of the dished out hole in the ground, left behind from the TDE bubble that had whisked her back in time. The gentle valley breeze flirted with her long strands of auburn hair, teasing a few stray hairs to whip across her face, but she remained steadfast and focused on her mission.

Peering off towards the valley, Cameron centered her gaze on a small group of lights about one kilometer away. She calculated they would be the most likely spot to have a human settlement and increase the odds of her finding suitable clothing.

As she gingerly stepped out of the indentation in the desert floor, the smooth glassy surface left behind from the formation of the bubble, crackled and splintered under her naked feet. Cameron marched her way towards the cluster of lights in the valley, her stride both graceful and mindful of any obstacles that lay ahead in her path.

Behind her, the remnants of her recent travel from the future were slowly beginning to disappear. The small fires had died down to glowing embers and various desert creatures had returned to their night time adventures, now that their irritating source of disturbance had decided to move on

As she made her way towards the lights, Cameron switched back and forth between night vision and thermal imaging. She remained constantly alert, her sensors set to maximum efficiency and distance.

Again Cameron began to search for files pertaining to her trip to 1999, she wanted to make sure she had everything in place and perfect for when she came in contact with young John.

**Searching data…**

**Files found…**

**Run file…**

"_Who are you? What series are you? " The male voice called out angrily._

_The machine made in the image of a young female resistance fighter was just booting up, after having to shut down due to an electrical overload induced by a high voltage wire that had been hooked up to the chair it had been sitting in earlier._

_The TOK 715 had almost made it past the interrogation, if not for one slip up, its infiltration as Allison Young would have been perfect. The machine was unaware of the resistance performing detailed debriefings before allowing missing fighters to return to normal duties at the base. It seemed John Connor and others were becoming much more careful as they discovered Skynet had become better at sending in infiltrators._

_The machine tried to move, but was restrained against the wall by heavy chains and bars wrapped around its female torso and extremities, rendering it immobile._

_It looked around the room it was held in, a small, dimly lit cell with unpainted cement walls and a large rusty steel door._

_The machine slowly turned its head to gaze at the interrogator, a wry smile formed on its lips as it looked into the face of the man it was sent to terminate. Its brown eyes locked onto John's bluish green eyes and momentarily flashed bright blue glow from behind brown, revealing to him its truest nature._

_John again asked the machine. "What series are you?"_

"_John…It's me…Allison." The machine mimicked Allison's voice perfectly, its facial expression exactly like Allison's, it even had the look of tears welling up in its eyes._

_John looked away in disgust, his face twisting in pain and anguish. He knew now Allison would be dead, this machine was sent in to replace her, to infiltrate, it was just an evil copy of her._

_John looked back at the machine, his eyes smoldering with mixed emotions. "Tell me your model number and name or so help me, I'll fry you again."_

_The machine's bottom lip trembled, tears began to flow down her cheek. "John? Please…you don't want to do that…I love you."_

_John lost it, he grabbed his Taser and rushed up to the immobile machine, his face mere inches from the Cyborg. "Stop playing games you metal bitch, or so help me I will shut you down and shred you into scrap." His voice was barely under control as he quietly whispered into the female Cyborg's ear._

"_You won't do that John, this body means too much to you." The Cyborg replied mockingly._

"_Fuck you." John spat back as he pressed the gun to the machines head, his hand trembling as he fought to gain control._

"_I am equipped to perform most duties, so if you wanted to fuck me, I could comply. I know you miss the female that I am modeled after. " The machine replied nonchalantly._

_John stood back, his face dark with pent up rage. A split second later he pressed the gun to the Cyborg's temple and pressed the trigger._

_Error messages flashed up on the Cyborg's HUD and then all went dark as systems shut down from the electrical overload._

Cameron stopped for a moment, she was puzzled again over why random files were popping up, instead the files she required. She wondered why she kept on having memory flashes of John, and not the actual files she had been searching for.

Cameron performed a quick internal scan of her software and hardware systems, but everything came back as being normal. She knew some of her files had been replaced with resistance programming and that some Skynet programming was still in her, but it had been rendered dormant by the resistance software.

John had told her that she had been freed from Skynet control, soon after she had been re-programmed and he had taught her many things to help her learn about her new found freedom.

**Searching Data…**

**File found…**

**Run file…**

"_Cameron…can you hear me?" John softly called to her, his voice sincere._

_Cameron opened her eyes and turned her head towards John. "Yes John." She replied quietly._

"_How do you feel?" John leaned in and looked into Cameron's face, worry was written across his._

_Cameron paused for a moment, she performed an internal scan of her systems and software. Her face went blank as she processed her new information, but soon she looked over to John with a faint hint of a smile. "I am different John." she whispered, then she furrowed her brow. "Why am I different John?"_

"_I…we…well we re-programmed you. We took out the Skynet programming that made you a terminator…well sort of." John took a deep breath and continued. "Cameron, what we did was make it so you are not a slave to Skynet, you are your own person, you have a free will and the means to decide what you want to do, without Skynet interfering."_

"_What am I to do now John?" Cameron meekly asked, her face like a child's in its innocent questioning look._

_John's face softened and his eyes locked onto hers before he spoke. "Cameron, I want you to join us…join the resistance…help us stop Skynet from destroying us. Will you join us?"_

_Cameron thought for a moment and then asked. "Why did you not just destroy me John?"_

_John looked away for a moment, emotions were almost getting the better of him. Quickly he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and then turned to her to answer. "You are made in the image of some one I was very close to and I could not bear to just scrap you. It wouldn't have brought her back and we would have lost a possible ally in our fight for survival…you Cameron."_

_Cameron's face went blank as she processed what John had just told her, then she looked directly into his eyes and smiled. "Thank you for explaining John…yes I will join you."_

Cameron had a glimmer of a smile on her lips after reviewing the last file, it was one of the few files she kept going back to time and again. She was not sure why, but thought it might have to do with the fact that it was the first time she was given free will and a choice.

She decided she would perform a more detailed scan once she had acquired clothing and a safe house to set up her operations for finding young John. Cameron resumed her progression towards the lights down in the valley, her rhythmic steps both solid and graceful as she marched forward.

As she got closer to the bright glow of the settlement, she began to see other shapes take form around the glimmer cast by the lamps. There was a collection of mobile homes nestled in a fenced compound and off to one corner she could see a huge bonfire, its flames licking up high into the night sky.

Her audio sensors picked up music being played from speakers, she analyzed the notes and deduced it was an 80's song performed by Madonna. _They must be having a celebration. _Cameron mused.

Reaching the open main gate of the compound, Cameron looked up to read the sign above the entranceway.

**Sunnydale Retreat**

_Interesting name for a trailer park, why do they call it a retreat? _Cameron processed her question, but failed to come up with a reasonable answer. She stopped and tilted her head to one side, carefully studying the sign with unblinking eyes for any clues to its mystery. No clues were found.

Since no humans were detected, Cameron proceeded into the compound encountering no resistance. _This will be a good place to acquire clothing, it is secluded, there is no police presence detected and there are few humans around to interfere with me gathering suitable clothing. This will be easy. _Cameron's lips lifted slightly into a quirky grin as she advanced into the trailer compound.

Glancing around, she calculated the compound held about forty mobile homes, but most of them seemed to be devoid of any humans. _They must be at the celebration. _Cameron concluded.

Cameron paused for a moment, her audio sensors picking up voices headed towards her direction. Since she was completely naked, she concluded it would be prudent to find a hiding spot so as to not draw any unwanted attention to herself.

Cat like, she slinked off to a dark corner behind a nearby trailer and crouched down to remain well hidden.

"Will Bill be bringing the cooler for the beer?" A female voice questioned.

"Yeah, he has the ice already in it. All we need it to load it up with the booze." The male voice answered.

Cameron peeked over towards the voices, her optical sensors zooming in to gauge if the female would be of suitable size for clothing, but there was a problem. Both the male and female were without clothing, except for the sandals they were both wearing on their feet.

_This is not right, people must wear clothes. _Cameron again tilted her head in confusion.

_They are in poor physical shape too. _Cameron zoomed in on the man's pot belly and then over to the woman, her hips were about twice as large as they should have been.

The couple moved along, heading towards the bonfire location and source of the loud music playing.

Cameron blinked, processing what she had just seen. _Maybe they had been robbed of their clothing, but they were not upset and had no signs of having been traumatized or injured._

_There is no sign of another terminator being nearby._

_I will need to investigate further. _Cameron concluded.

She decided to follow the couple towards the bonfire in hopes of finding another female with suitable clothing to wear.

Slipping between trailers and vehicles, Cameron slowly followed the couple to the far corner of the compound. The music had become much louder, Cameron turned down her sensors as it was useless to try to listen in on any conversation being made.

A new song was now playing, another 80's band called the Bangles were singing about walking like an Egyptian. Cameron was becoming more puzzled over what was going on at this celebration.

She was now at the last row of trailers, just before reaching the bonfire area. The music was extremely loud, almost to the point of being distorted.

Cameron carefully looked around the corner of the trailer, what she saw was something she was not prepared to see.

Every person around the flaming stack of wood was devoid of clothing, some did however choose to wear some sort of shoe or sandal for their feet. There were also a few people that had miniature purses strapped around their waists.

Some people were sitting, some standing and then more were engaged in a tribal style of dance around the fire.

To a cyborg fresh from the future, it would seem she had stumbled across total pandemonium.

_Has John sent me to the wrong past? Is this an alternate universe? Will I be able to blend in? _ Cameron was perplexed to the point of furrowing her brow and tilting her head in the other direction. She decided to move further out into the open, seeing as most people were focused on the fire and the party.

Slowly she stepped out from behind the trailer.

At that moment a small male dog ran up to her, but kept a distance away from her while it barked out its alarm.

"Mitzee... stop that barking." A young man came walking up as he called to the scrawny Chihuahua

He looked up to Cameron and smiled cheerfully.

"Hey… haven't seen you around here before. Are you new here?" He asked in a louder than normal voice.

"Yes" Cameron replied dryly, but just as loud.

"My name is Josh, what's yours?" The young mad grinned as he looked her from head to toe and back up again.

"Cameron" She replied coolly.

"Are you over eighteen?" Josh asked eagerly while nervously looking around.

Cameron thought for a second and looked him straight in the eye. "Yes… I believe I am nineteen."

Josh gave her a puzzled look, then smiled. "Wanna go back to my trailer?"

"No" Cameron replied stone faced.

"Fine… be a bitch then." Josh spat out and turned to leave, his dog Mitzee following close behind him with its tail between its legs and occasionally glancing back nervously to make sure Cameron was not pursuing him or his master.

Cameron Stared at Josh and his small dog until they both disappeared around the other side of the fire. She had wondered why Josh had wanted her to be a bitch, but dismissed it as just a way for him to leave her and save his dignity. Besides she had no time to be a bitch, she needed to find young John and start protecting him, even if she was to do it with no clothes.

A young couple now approached Cameron, both seemingly under the influence of an alcoholic substance and both wearing nothing but shoes.

"Hi…are you new here?" The young woman asked.

"Yes" Cameron responded.

"This your first time to the colony?" The man now asked Cameron, his eyes doing the same look up and down as Josh had done earlier.

The woman glanced over at the man and gave him an evil look. "You just never mind Tom, or I'll be tearing your nads off and feeding them to the cat."

The man averted his eyes from Cameron, lowered his head and apologized to the woman. "Sorry Mindy."

The woman looked over to Cameron and smiled. "So…this is your first time at a nudist colony them?"

Cameron looked at Mindy and then to Tom. "This is a nudist colony?"

The woman laughed at Cameron's child like look of surprise.

"Well…duhhh….hey have you been drinkin' or smokin' somethin'?" Mindy laughed while she asked Cameron.

"No" Cameron replied.

"Girl… you need to really loosen up. Once you get used to it, there's nothin' to be shy about…nudity is natural and besides, you have a beautiful body." Mindy winked at Cameron.

"Thank you" Cameron wasn't sure what to do so she winked back and tried her best to smile.

Mindy gave her a weird look, hooked her arm around Tom's and started to drag him away, but turned to Cameron "Maybe we'll see you later…umm…what's your name?"

"Cameron"

Mindy looked over to Tom, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nice to meet you Cameron." Mindy politely stated and then ambled off with Tom to mingle with others at the bon fire.

If a cyborg could feel relief, Cameron would have felt it right at the moment she learned she was in a nudist colony. All she needed to do was to start going through some of the empty trailers and hopefully find some suitable clothing to wear, funds and then she would be a few steps closer to finding and protecting young John.

Cameron left the party goers to their drinking and dance, she had better things to do.

Stealth like, Cameron made her way back into the row of trailers and began her search for her new life and identity.

To be continued…

**Note- **

One more chapter to go.

This will stop after Cameron has finished her first full day back in 1999.

Unless people like the way I did Cameron and want more.

Its up to you guys to decide !

Thank You for reading this little story !

Moe


	3. Chapter 3: The Search Begins

**Chapter 3: The Search Begins**

It had been a few minutes since Cameron had begun her sweep through the trailers.

She was careful not to be seen, as she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

The first two trailers contained clothing, but none would match her slender frame.

Cameron wanted clothing that would match her size so she wouldn't need to keep looking for replacement clothing, when she had more important things to gather.

After passing a couple of trailers with people inside, Cameron came across a third trailer that looked promising. The lights were out and there was no sign of any one being inside of it.

Outside the trailer stood a pair of newer Harley's, well newer for 1999, one being a fairly large bike and the other slightly smaller. Cameron took a closer look at the two bikes. _ 1997 Harley Davidson XL883C, with lowered suspension and a 1998 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic. The XL883C will do fine for my frame size, it will be easy to handle. _

Cameron went to smash the glass to facilitate unlocking the door, but she paused for a second and tried turning the knob first. The doorknob turned easily and the aluminum door opened with minor creaks and complaints. She peered inside and carefully listened for any signs of people or pets inside, none were seen or heard.

The interior of the trailer was Spartan but kept neat and tidy, one could have almost imagined it to be a display model instead of a place some one was living in.

Not needing lights on, Cameron slipped into the bedroom area of the trailer and proceeded to rifle through the various drawers and storage compartments. The first few spots revealed only men's clothing, the items being way too large for Cameron's svelte frame.

Finally she came across woman's clothing.

Cameron took measurements of the items she found, they were a very close match to her.

A hint of a smile tilted the corner of her mouth as she realized her search was over, she had found suitable clothing, a means of transportation and most likely funds too as it seemed almost no one in the trailer park carried cash around on their person.

Sure enough, in the underwear drawer of the woman's clothing, Cameron found a small stack of currency.

_Three hundred and eighty dollars, that should be sufficient for now. _ She thought to herself.

Quickly she slipped on a pair of pink thong underwear, ankle socks and a pair of designer jeans. The jeans fit almost perfectly, accentuating her butt and long slender legs.

Hanging up in a small closet were some shirts, but most of them were of the frilly type and no good for her plans to travels on the motor cycle.

Back to another drawer Cameron found an assortment of T-shirts that would suit her needs. She came across one that met her fancy. The slogan read "So few men, so few who can afford me." _This will be suitable. _ Cameron thought to herself.

Cameron slipped the shirt over her head and pulled it down to her waist, she turned to exit the bedroom and headed for the main door. Beside the door were two black leather jackets, one was much larger, for a man and the other was just her size. Cameron pulled the jacket off of its hook and slid in on. It felt just right and had a nice weathered look to it. The buckles and zippers located on miscellaneous spots served no purpose, but managed to give Cameron a bad ass look about her.

Just below was a helmet on the floor, so Cameron grabbed it, slipped it on and started to head out the door, but then she stopped. _I need suitable footwear. _She thought to herself.

Peering off to her left, she spied a row of footwear. Flip flops, sneakers, fuzzy slippers made to look like bunnies and two pairs of motorcycle boots.

Cameron slid on the pair of bunny slippers and stared at her feet as she maneuvered them around. _They look appropriate for a girl, but they may not be durable enough to survive the ride on the motorcycle. _She deliberated for a split second and then decided to try on the smaller of the two pairs of biker boots.

The boots were a tad loose fitting, but came halfway up her calf and once her jeans were tucked in felt quite comfortable. _I will have no problem walking in these boots, they will suit my purpose quite sufficiently. _ Cameron would be pleased with her choices, if she had realized she was feeling pleased, she was not aware that she had a delightful grin on her face. _I will blend in nicely with the people here._

She checked the pockets of the jacket, the keys for the bike were in the left pocket of the leather jacket. Pulling them out, Cameron slipped the key into the ignition to unlock the steering. Being careful, she chose to push the bike towards the main gate before firing it up, just to prevent any unnecessary attention being drawn to her, when she started the bike up.

Upon reaching the main gate, Cameron made sure the fuel was turned on, the ignition was set to the run position, then she proceeded to kick start the bike. Two kicks later, the bike roared to life, Cameron dropped it into first gear, released the clutch and rumbled off into the night.

The cooler crisper air whipped her long hair about as she made her way towards the main road into town. Cameron cracked the throttle and the bike lunged forward to break neck speed. Anyone other than an expert would have never attempted to go so fast, but she had no problem handling the bike as it gathered momentum and charged forward into the night.

Most people would have loved traveling so fast on a clear moonlit evening, but Cameron had plans and they were not related to joy riding into the night, she needed to find a place to stay and a means to procure suitable ID for herself.

Minutes later the private road came to a dead end, meeting the main highway at the bottom of a small hill. Cameron eased the bike to a stop by the road sign and read what it said.

**Red Valley 10 Miles**

She looked both ways down the highway, checking on traffic flow. For just being after dark, the road was still fairly well traveled and vehicles were busy zipping past her in either direction.

Cameron sat for a second, her feet touching the ground on either side of the bike steadily keeping it upright while the bike gently burbled noise out from the exhaust pipe. While waiting, she thought about what John had told her about his younger self.

**Searching Data….**

**Files found….**

**Run files….**

_It was morning time, Cameron had just awakened John and she was on her way to get him his morning coffee. She marched towards the eating area, her head held high and her eyes always searching for any possible threats to her John._

_Most people ignored her, some smiled and said hello, the few who were not happy with John having Cameron around gave her dirty looks and whispered nasty remarks. She could hear perfectly what they said, but chose to ignore them and kept up her swift pace towards the canteen._

_Once reaching the canteen she made her way directly to the large coffee dispenser, grabbed a cup and filled a coffee cup for John. She briskly turned about and headed back the same way she had come._

_As Cameron strode up to John's door, she knocked on it before opening the door and entering the room._

_John was sitting at his desk by the bed, his face looking tired and ragged despite having slept almost eight hours._

"_Here is your coffee John." Cameron placed the coffee on his desk and lightly brushed his hand as she pulled hers away from the cup._

_John looked up and smiled halfheartedly. "Why thank you Cameron."_

"_John?"_

"_Yes Cameron"_

"_You are stressed." Cameron replied stone faced._

_John sighed and stretched out his arms for a moment, then he looked up at her from his seated position. "It happens when you wage war against Skynet for almost twenty years."_

"_Maybe I should stay here with you John." Cameron solemnly replied._

_John crinkled his brow and smiled. "I've made my decision Cameron. I need you to go and make sure younger me is protected." John lifted his coffee to his lips and took a sip. "I'll be fine here… and I can manage to get my own coffee once you're gone."_

"_What If Skynet machines attack the base?" Cameron asked, her face still masking any hint of emotions._

"_Cameron?"_

"_Yes John"_

"_Are you worried about me?"_

_Cameron stood for a moment, her eyes gazed into John's for a split second and then she looked away. "I am concerned about your safety John."_

_John shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I would say you are going to miss me…are you?" _

_Cameron looked off into a corner of the room. "You need protection John."_

_John stood up and faced Cameron, his eyes meeting hers, but she looked down. He gently placed his hand under her chin and raised it so he could look into her pensive face._

"_Cameron" John said softly. "Tell me what's bothering you."_

_She didn't know what to do, her thoughts were going all over the place. She opened her mouth to speak, but froze._

_A single tear fell down her cheek._

_Cameron looked into John's eyes and saw a softness she had never seen before. He had concern written all over his face and her readings detected slight elevations in skin temperature, salinity and an elevated heart rate, she was unnecessarily stressing him._

_Her lips parted slightly as she prepared to speak, but again she hesitated as she tried to give him an answer._

Cameron was still sitting at the stop sign, the traffic had now cleared enough so that she could turn and head into the town.

A stray tear had trickled down her cheek, but she could not understand why. _Maybe my tear leaked out by accident. _ She analyzed her sensors and tear producing ducts, but found no abnormalities and so attributed it to a possible glitch in her tear duct system.

_I will need to perform a full systems scan and re-boot once I find shelter safe enough to go on standby._

Cameron popped the bike into first gear, cracked the throttle and released the clutch. Small bits of gravel spit up into the air as the rear wheel spun and kicked out the back end of the bike, Cameron flew onto the main road heading towards Red Valley.

She had decided to travel through the town first, before settling in on where to stay for the night. Cameron needed to get a first hand look at what the town was like, where the high school was and where she should stay. She also needed to find a good place to leave the bike and not have anyone witness her riding the bike.

Minutes later, Cameron had reached the outskirts of the town. She slowed the bike down to proper speed limits and proceeded to download any useful information about the town.

The welcome sign had indicated a population of 11000 and that everyone in Red Valley was friendly.

There was a modern gas bar, a small Mall with a giant Wal-Mart located right beside it, a town hall, police station, bowling alley, and miscellaneous smaller individual stores along the main road through the town.

Ten minutes later, Cameron had passed through the main part of town and came upon the high school off in the distance.

**Crestview High School  
**

Under the main sign, a smaller sign claimed the school was home of the Roadrunners.

There was also a cartoon drawing of a bird made to resemble a Roadrunner, but upon closer analysis Cameron determined the drawing not to be very accurate.

She also noted that school would be starting up in sixty days. _I will have plenty of time to find a location to set up as a home base. _ Cameron was pleased to have been able to gather so much information in such a short space of time.

She made plans to come back to the school during the day and map it out for escape routes. She would also need to acquire a computer with internet access so she could set herself up to enroll in the high school.

John had explained to her how she would need to be in the school, so she could have a better chance to meet up with the younger him. He had also told her some of the names he might use when he enrolled in the high school.

**Searching Data…**

**Files found…**

**Run file…**

"_Cameron?... I need to explain some details about going back to 1999." John waved his hand to indicate he wanted her to come closer._

_Cameron walked up and stood beside John as he sat at his desk._

_John sat back in the chair and tucked his hands behind his head as he explained things to her._

"_I remember going to Red Valley High School in 1999, but I'm not sure when I got there. You'll need to enroll in the school just before the new school year starts. I do remember getting there just after school started, but not the exact date, so you will need to be there right from the first day of the new school year." John had his serious leaders face showing as he explained to Cameron._

"_Why do I need to go to school John? I could just remain outside and contact you when you arrive." Cameron asked innocently._

_John shook his head, placed his hands over his face and let out a small groan._

"_Are you okay John?" Cameron asked with a hint of concern in her voice._

_John peeked out from behind his hands and sighed. "Cameron…we have some work to do…"_

Cameron's lip curled up into a half smile as she recalled that moment when John was trying to explain to her why she should not just wait for him outside the school.

"_Cameron…you can't just wait for me outside the school." John explained._

"_Why not John?" Cameron asked with a look of simple innocence._

"_Cameron…you'll freak young me out for one thing and my Mom would probably go warrior woman on you…turn you into scrap." John smiled at Cameron, even his eyes were smiling as he saw her try to process what he had just said._

"_So how do I get close to younger you John?" Cameron's deep brown eyes locked onto his blue green eyes._

_John's eyes sparkled, his face breaking out into a wide smile. "Cameron…you are a very beautiful girl and all you need to do is come up to me in school and make small talk, the rest will take care of itself."_

"_All I need to do is talk to young you John?" Cameron looked puzzled._

"_Well you will need to basically infiltrate into the school, you need to fool me into thinking you are not just there to protect me. You need to get close to me and it will be hard to do, especially with my Mom hovering around." John chuckled._

"_So I will need to infiltrate the school…but how will I know what to do in school?" Cameron had a look of being totally lost, her eyes seemed to plead with John for an answer._

"_That's where you will need to do research before you go to school. You will need to read teen magazines, watch TV shows about teens, go on the internet and look up teen sites and watch how the teen girls act and dress in 1999… you will need to watch, learn and blend in so you fit in." John winked at Cameron, smiled and held up one finger before speaking again." One more thing…don't let young me know you are a terminator, unless it is a matter of life or death."_

_Cameron thought for a second and looked into John's eyes. "Thank you for explaining John." Then she smiled, it was a genuine smile. _

Cameron continued on past the school and outside of the town limits.

A couple of miles down the highway, on the side of the road, was a motel.

Cameron slowed down to check it out.

**Roadrunner Motel **

Cameron was beginning to wonder why every place seemed to be named after the Roadrunner. _It must be a very important bird…I must do more research on this bird._

Again the sign had a cartoonish drawing depicting a Roadrunner, along side the lettering.

Cameron eased the bike into the parking lot by the main entrance doors. She stopped the bike, turned the ignition off and proceeded to climb off and set the kick stand.

She pulled her helmet off and set it on the seat of the bike, then she walked into through the doors to the main office counter.

She kept watch for anything out of the ordinary, her head and eyes panning back and forth as she made her way to the counter.

An older man was standing behind the counter, he was short , balding and was wearing a white shirt that was in desperate need of washing.

"Hi there missy." The man greeted her with an almost toothless smile, his eyes drinking in the leggy brunette's slender figure before settling onto her face.

"My name is not missy, it is Cameron …I would like to have a room for the night." She replied dryly.

The bald man scratched his belly and spun the register book around for her to fill in.

"You'll need to fill this out Cameron and it'll be forty three dollars for one night, but that's only if you are traveling single." The man lifted his brow in question as he looked straight into her eyes.

Cameron matched his look and never blinked, her eyes burning into the man's with no sign of emotion. "I will be staying alone." She replied coldly.

The man got a bit nervous at the look the young girl had dispensed him, she was giving him the creeps, almost like a serial killer from the TV shows he watched.

Cameron looked down at the register, picked up the pen attached to it by a chain and signed in her name, Cameron Phillips. John had told her to use Phillips as a last name, mainly because it was a name he had never used and so it would not draw any suspicion from Sarah or young John.

She pulled out some of the money from her pocket and paid the balding man, he happily took the cash all the while never taking his eyes off of her chest area. _I must have done something wrong with the way I put on the shirt or maybe it is the jacket. _She thought to herself.

The man briefly turned around to grab a key off of the rack and handed it to Cameron.

" You're in number fifteen, it's the last room on the end of the row when you turn left outside." He explained.

"Thank you." Cameron reciprocated, her face remaining like a stone sculpture.

Cameron turned around and walked out of the office, the man kept close watch on her rear as she sauntered out of the office. _If only I was twenty years younger. _The man mused as a sinister smile came over his face.

Cameron grabbed her helmet, popped back onto the bike and started it up. She turned the bike towards the row of rooms and slowly drove to the last one, number fifteen, just like the man had said. She parked the bike in the spot directly in front of the door, climbed off and proceeded to enter inside.

Typical of a less than stellar motel, the room was Spartan with threadbare covers on the bed and dusty curtains. There was a small stand in the corner, with an older color TV on top of it, there was no remote. The bathroom was directly ahead as one entered the room, but Cameron would worry about cleaning herself up tomorrow.

She turned to lock the door and put the chain across it, to slow down or prevent anyone from bursting in on her. Cameron needed to go on standby and check her systems to make sure everything was okay, the last thing she needed was to be caught off guard. She was still wondering why her files were being mixed up and thought it might be due to her time travel. Things were just not right in her CPU and she needed to know why.

Cameron still wondered why John had sent her back and not some one else, she didn't want to go back in time, but she didn't know why. She was puzzled over why memory files were being selected that had nothing to do with her mission.

Cameron stood by the window with the lights off, she would remain here until she finished her scanning of her systems, then she would clean herself up and find a spot to get rid of the bike. Tomorrow morning she would begin her study of teen girls in 1999 and learn how to best infiltrate the school and get close to young John Connor, the teen boy destined to become leader of the resistance against Skynet.

Cameron had promised John she would protect young John, but she was not to tell him about key turning points in the future. John had told her about important people he had sent back and the approximate time they had arrived in the past, so she could contact them if required. She was also told of certain spots where time travel equipment had been set up to be used in case of emergency and about Skynet machines also sent back to try to stop Sarah and John. Her mission was to remain with John and protect him at all costs and to ensure the fight against Skynet would continue at any cost, even if it meant she had to sacrifice herself.

Standing completely still as if she were a statue, Cameron pondered over what young John might be like. _Will he be kind like my John? Will he treat me like a person? _ She thought for a second and then continued with sorting through files, she would not concern herself with such questions, she had more important items to deal with.

Cameron needed to allocate all her resources towards finding and protecting John Connor, he was her most important mission and she had made a promise not to fail him.

She continued to stare out the window as she began to set up her programs for scanning.

Her internal chronometer was set to alert her in six hours to re-boot and then she would prepare for her new life with young John Connor.

She would help protect her John for the future.

...

**Six Hours Later**

Cameron re-booted and came back to full power exactly six hours later, all her systems checked out fine.

She was puzzled. _There must be something wrong... why did I cry? Why do I keep going back to happy and sad memories? All my systems are fine._

Cameron did some more internal scanning and did find something in her personality matrix, an anomaly. She went deeper into her files to discover her systems were changed, evolved in some way, but not in a bad way.

Certain parts of her memories were intertwined in with her normal systems she used to interact with humans, basic code was being re-written and adapted to existing code.

Cameron was learning and adapting.

She was puzzled at first, but then she began to understand that she was finally breaking further away from her Skynet programming. _ I am reacting to physical and emotional stimuli, just like a human might. Am I learning to become a person ?_

Cameron smiled, her lip curling up ever so slightly, she was beginning to understand what her John had told her before she had left. He had told her she was capable of learning and adapting to the point of maybe becoming something or someone different.

_This could help me in my infiltration. _ Cameron mused._ But I cannot let this interfere with protecting young John, showing emotions could lead to making mistakes and endangering John._

Cameron made up her mind to only use her new skills when necessary and to suppress her new emotions at all other times, so as to ensure she would be at her best, when it came to protecting her John.

Happy that she had figured out what was going on inside of her, Cameron decided now was the time to begin her new learning process to help infiltrate into the teen lifestyle of 1999.

Her first order of business was to get rid of the bike and then start her new identity building process.

Cameron was pleased with herself, she turned towards the bathroom and strode across the room. _ First I must clean myself up and make myslf presentable to the public._

She entered the bathroom and stripped down, then she turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature to warm. She proceeded to climb in and rinse off the dust and dirt from her travel back in time, the droplets of water playing upon her sensors. She felt the water, she not only knew it was water and that it was warm, but she felt it. Cameron smiled again, happy in knowing she was not broken or damaged, but evolving into something different and maybe better.

Her new life in 1999 was starting at that moment and she was looking forward to what it had to offer.

**Authors Note- **

Well that Chapter 3 of Cameron's first day back in 1999.

If you like the story, please review.

A big thanks goes out to all those that read my story and left reviews.

Thank you to The1Russter for beta reading the story and providing help and advice.( I'm really happy you took time out of your busy schedule to check it over)

Some have indicated I should continue and I gave it serious thought...so I will keep going as long as you guys like how the story unfolds.

I'm over halfway done chapter4 and plan to continue up until Cameron meets young John at school. ( I had incorrectly called the school Red Valley high, in this chapter, but have now named it what it was called in the pilot episode...Crestview High!)

I don't know what will happen after they meet, I might continue AU.

Moe


	4. Chapter 4: The First Week

**Chapter 4: The First Week**

It was a few minutes later when Cameron finished with cleaning up in the shower. She stepped out, grabbed a threadbare towel off of the bar and proceeded to dry herself off.

Gingerly she slid the towel up from her toes and ankles, to her calves and up over her slender thighs.

The towel was doing a poor job of drying, so she decided to just wrap it around her midsection, tie it in front of her and wait to finish drying. Cameron strolled back into the main room, grabbed the remote from on top of the TV and switched the set on.

Being an older unit, it took a moment for the picture to appear after the sound. Normally a person would have either sat or laid on the bed to watch TV and channel surf, Cameron stood about two feet back from the screen, unmoving and unblinking. Patiently she waited for the images to appear and then she proceeded to channel surf.

Early in the morning there really was not much on the television, besides infomercials, wildlife shows and re-runs of old shows from the 1960's. Cameron watched some ads for TV shows coming up in the evening and later on in the week and so she decided she would watch TV later on in the day.

She turned off the TV and placed the remote back on top of the set.

Sensing she had dried off sufficiently, Cameron removed her towel and dropped it onto the bed. She grabbed her clothes and put them back on, then she went to the bathroom to double check she looked presentable for going outside. _I must make sure I will fit in, while I look for permanent base of operations. Blending in will help in my infiltration._

Cameron stared into the mirror, her hair was still a little damp and untamed looking. Seeing as she did not have a comb or a brush, she did her best at running her fingers through her hair. _This will have to do. _She thought to herself.

Cameron looked up and into the mirror at herself.

Almost absently she reached up to touch her lips with her hand. Softly she ran the tips of her fingers across the edge of her mouth….

**Searching Data…**

**Files found…**

**Run files…**

_She didn't know what to do, her thoughts were going all over the place. She opened her mouth to speak, but froze._

_A single tear rolled down her cheek._

_Cameron looked into John's eyes and saw a softness she had never seen before. He had concern written all over his face and her readings detected slight elevations in skin temperature, salinity and an elevated heart rate, she was unnecessarily stressing him._

_Her lips parted slightly as she prepared to speak, but again she hesitated as she tried to give him an answer._

_Nothing came out of her, not a word._

_She stood there looking into John's eyes, her tear slowly meandering its way down her face._

_John let go of her chin and gently used his thumb to wipe away her tear, his eyes never leaving hers._

_Cameron looked to his hand as his thumb brushed away the stray tear, she was unaware of the tear and why it had slipped out of her tear duct. She had not sent out a command for this to happen and she did not receive any data stating that there was a problem with any of her systems. She wondered if this new problem was tied into her inability to speak._

"_Cameron?" John called to her, his voice filled with concern._

_Cameron looked back up to John, her face filled with puzzlement._

"_Cameron…are you okay?" John's voice was soft, barely a whisper. His hand was moving from her cheek down to her neck, his fingers almost imperceptible as he traced a line along the curve of her neck._

_She could hear him perfectly, she felt his soft touch. Something inside of her had taken over, her programming was doing things she seemed to have no control over._

"_John…please…I-I don't want to go." Cameron's voice was filled with emotion, her eyes pleading as she looked deeply into his. All of her systems were running at once, sensors and programs were overwhelmed with data pouring in. _

_She knew something had happened, but she was unable to determine what had happened._

_Programs and data were being re-written even while she was trying to analyze the files and information._

_Tears formed in John's blue-green eyes, he looked away from her distraught face, unable to handle what he has just seen her do. As his hand started to shake uncontrollably, he dropped it down from her neck._

"_John…I-I'm sorry…I should not have said that…I-I don't know why I am being this way." Cameron stammered and began to shed more tears, she had no control over her tears and she was having a hard time expressing what she really wanted to say._

_Cameron looked down and clasped her hands together, she remained passively standing in front of John._

_John turned away from Cameron, his shoulders dropping and his head bowed._

"_Cameron… I…I need you to go now…I need some time alone." John's voice cracked with emotion._

_Cameron looked up to John and saw that he had turned away from her. She didn't want to go away, but she was unsure what she could do to avoid having to leave._

"_Please John…" Cameron pleaded again with him._

_She brought her hand up to touch his shoulder, but pulled it back in hesitation._

_Cameron was perplexed, she had never had this happen to her, this new influx of data and re-writing of subroutines. She tried to make sense of what was going on, but analyzing the data left her even more confused._

_What she knew for sure was that she wanted to stay with John._

_Cameron decided to go ahead and touch John._

_She brought her hand up to his shoulder and gently grazed it._

"_John?" She whispered quietly._

_John looked up and turned around, his eyes were moist and red. "Cameron…I…"_

_Cameron brought her fingers to his lips, stopping John from speaking and shook her head._

"_No John…no more sending me away when you are upset." she looked up into his eyes a hint of a smile on her lips. Her brown eyes suddenly flashing a bright blue from her ocular sensors._

_John's eyes widened in wonder, but he never flinched or stepped back._

_Cameron slid her fingers from John's lips down to the back of his neck. Gradually she pulled his head down as she leaned up closer to his face. Her lips parted as she moved closer to his mouth._

_Slowly Cameron brought her mouth to John's, she closed her eyes as she barely brushed her lips over his. A soft moan escaped from Cameron, she pressed her lips to John's and brought her other arm up so she could wrap them around his neck._

_John hesitated at first, but then his arms went around her waist and he pulled Cameron closer to him, his kiss becoming deeper and stronger. The moment seemed to last forever for Cameron, she had been wondering how it would feel and now, finally, she had her answer._

_Cameron arched her back as John tightened his grip on her waist, she ran her fingers through his hair as she melded her body to his._

_Tears ran down her face, but they were different tears now._

Cameron was still gazing into the bathroom mirror, but now her cheeks were flushed and remnants of tears were visible on her face. _ Why is this happening to me? I should be able to control these memories and my emotions. _ Cameron furrowed her brow as she brooded over her dilemma. She was confused as to why she kept having the flashbacks, she knew certain parameters in her personality had expanded and overwritten, but the random memories could hinder her progress.

Cameron ran some quick tests, only to discover that since her matrix had evolved, certain systems seemed to be able to function on their own. When she touched her lips, it seemed to trigger her chip to search for a file, a memory related to her lips. She was sure that the other memories triggered were a result of her growth and evolution, it was all new and a bit overwhelming for her to grasp. _I must learn to control this, before I end up making a mistake in front of other people or young John. I will set aside time to do further testing and analysis so I can control my memories and emotions better. _

Cameron walked out of the bathroom, slipped on her black leather jacket, boots, pulled keys out of her pocket and proceeded to exit the motel room.

Before getting onto the bike, she stood and surveyed her surroundings. Her head moving back and forth as she monitored the nearby area for any threats.

It was still dark outside, the early morning air was cool and crisp. Soon the sun would be up and the day would most become blisteringly hot in this desert town.

Cameron checked her list of priorities. _I need to find a suitable laptop or see if the local library has computers with internet access. Hacking into government sites and setting up a new identification should be easy and I will need to set up bank accounts with adequate funds for infiltration. I must also see about renting a house and purchasing a vehicle to use for transporting weapons. _ Happy with her priorities and not detecting any threats, she proceeded to climb onto the bike and fire it up.

The motor rumbled to life with one kick of the pedal. Cameron cracked the throttle a couple of times, making sure the engine was responding properly. She slid on her helmet and popped the bike into first gear.

Releasing the clutch, Cameron eased the bike out of the motel lot and onto the main road. As she brought the bike up to speed, Cameron thought about how to get rid of the bike. _I'll need to find a good spot to hide the bike. It will probably be reported stolen by early morning and I cannot risk being caught and put in jail. I must be ready for when John arrives._

Cameron had driven a few more miles out of the town of Red Valley, before she finally found a lonely road to take the bike down. She turned off the main highway and traveled up the dirt road about a mile or so.

Cameron stopped the bike after she reached a spot that cannot be seen from the main road. She smashed the bikes electrical to make it look like it was stolen and then threw away both the keys and helmet. An ordinary person would manage to toss the items a fair bit, but a terminator, like Cameron, managed to toss the helmet up and away to a point about half a mile from where she stood. Then she lobbed the keys about half a mile in the opposite direction.

Satisfied she had disposed the items properly, Cameron turned around and began to walk down the dirt road back to the main highway, from there she made her way back to town. Cameron did some calculated estimates and came to the conclusion that she would reach Red Valley in approximately one hour and forty-three minutes, if she kept up her present walking pace.

**One Hour and Forty-Three Minutes Later**

Cameron arrived at the outskirts of Red Valley.

Inwardly she was pleased with her progress, a hint of a smile crept across her lips.

Steadily she plodded along towards the center of town, her legs lifting and falling in an unwavering terminator pace. Cameron was unaware of how she walked and so she was content that she blended in quite well. She did, however, keep an ever vigilant watch on her surroundings, constantly moving her head from left to right, her sensors ready to alert her of any and all threats.

Just of the main road in the town was a small square, with a park located in the middle.

Cameron noticed this area seemed to contain the town's main municipal offices.

She glances at the town hall, a small police station and to her surprise, a public library.

Her ocular sensors zoom in on the main door of the library, she notes the times of operation. _Monday to Friday 9:30 am- 7:30 pm, Saturday 10:00 am-3:00 pm, Sunday closed. I still have time to look around the town and gather more information._

Cameron check her internal chronometer, now set to local time and date, it is Wednesday, she has two hours and fifty-one minutes before she should be back at this location to enter the library and check to see if it has computers with internet access. She makes note of this and continues on her tour of the town.

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is almost non existent this early in the morning, unlike a larger city, the town has a more lax feel to it. This is a good thing for Cameron, she is after all, dressed in her bad ass outfit and is unaware of her 'Sticking out like a sore thumb' look. Not to mention her unusual walk would cause people in a small town to stop and stare.

She continues along her path of discovery, everything is quite new to her. Cameron has only seen snippets of how life was like before Judgment Day, mostly from downloaded files she has in her memory, courtesy of Skynet. Unfortunately Skynet only saw it fit to provide rudimentary information about life before that fateful day, most information was deemed unnecessary as she was never programmed to go back in time.

While checking over the town's various sights, Cameron came across a movie theater, it was semi attached to a smallish shopping mall.

The sign on it read…

**Now showing**

**Disney's Tarzan, The Mummy, American Pie.**

Cameron stood and analyzed the movie titles. _Walt Disney, a cartoonist from the early twentieth century. Tarzan must be a cartoon based on Edgar Rice Burroughs novel_, _Tarzan of the Apes. The Mummy…interesting…this must be a movie about a mother, and the third movie American Pie…maybe this is a documentary on pies. I will need to investigate this further. _ She documents the show times and commits them to memory, fully intent on seeing the movies so as to help her integrate into this time line.

**Two Hours and Forty-Nine Minutes Later**

After completing her walk around the central part of town, Cameron managed to locate a hardware store, a bank, a used car lot and a real estate office. All of these places being vastly important in her being able to properly infiltrate herself into Red Valley and set up her base of operations.

Now she was back at the library, patiently waiting for the door to be unlocked, so she could enter.

Cameron stood statue like, at the bottom of the steps leading up to the main entrance to the library. Unfortunately she didn't manage to blend in so well, as people walking by noticed the strange girl standing absolutely straight as an arrow, with her head tilted up towards the front doors.

Finally at exactly half past nine, the doors were unlocked by an older woman with gray hair and glasses on the end of a chain dangling around her neck. Cameron proceeded to climb the stairs to the door and opened it.

"Good morning miss." The older woman greeted Cameron with a nervous smile. It was rare to have young girls come into the library,dressed in a leather jacket and suggestively tight jeans, this 'biker girl' had a brooding look about her too.

"Good morning." Cameron replied in a cheerful and sweet manor, then she gave the woman a bright smile.

The woman smiled back and seemed to calm down a bit after Cameron's pleasant greeting.

"Do you have computers with internet access here?" Cameron put on her most innocent face as she asked.

"Why yes my dear…we do. Just follow me." The lady perked up and waved with her hand for Cameron to follow her.

They both went through the main area of the public library towards the far corner, where there was a row of about half a dozen computers. No one was there yet, so Cameron had her choice of machine to use.

"Are all these machines linked to the internet?" Cameron looked over to the woman as she asked.

"Yes my dear…you can pick any one of them and I will set things up for you. Have you used computers like this before?" The older woman looked intently into Cameron's eyes.

Cameron curled her lip up in a half grin. "I've seen machines like this before." _Very primitive but they will do for what I need. By the look of the equipment, the machines are using a dial up modem for internet access. This will take longer than I planned…My John should have sent me to a later date… with faster machines._

Cameron walked over to a machine in the corner and places her hand on the chair in front of it. "This machine will be just fine." She stated.

"Okay dear…Just give me a moment and I will get the ball rolling." The lady smiles and disappears around the corner.

Cameron remains standing beside the machine she picked. _Why does the lady need to roll a ball? _She mulls over her question, while waiting for the lady to return.

The computer monitor wakes up from its slumber, the screen blips to life. Cameron is reminded of another time a screen did this.

_John is grumbling and swearing under his breath. He thinks no one can hear, but Cameron does._

"_John?"_

_John jumps in surprise, looks up and around to see Cameron standing behind him._

"_What? How long have you been there?" John's voice sounding a bit flustered._

"_One minute and thirty-seven seconds." Cameron replied dryly._

_John shakes his head and smiles. "You're sure it wasn't a minute and thirty nine?"_

_Cameron pauses for a moment before answering. "I checked my chronometer and it indicates to me that I have been here exactly one minute and…"_

"_Hold on Cameron." John interrupts with a smile. "I was just pulling your leg."_

_Cameron looks down to her legs._

_John begins to laugh. _

"_Cameron…pulling your leg… it's a figure of speech, It's like a saying."_

_Cameron looks into John's face and studies it. She sees that he is in a pleasant mood and is more relaxed than usual. At the same time, she analyzes what he has just told her and stores the line in her data files for future reference._

"_So when you were sitting in front of the computer screen, calling it a 'Cranky old bitch', you were just using a figure of speech?"_

_John shakes his head. "Yes Cameron…that's sorta what I was saying and doing…and how did you hear that? I was whispering to myself."_

"_I have enhanced hearing John." Cameron replies, the corner of her lips barely curving up into a tiny smile._

_John leans back in his chair, stretches his legs out, places his hands behind his head and lets out a sigh.  
_

"_So you understand what I just explained?" John raises his eyebrow in question, his lips still forming a grin._

"_Yes John…Thank you for explaining." Cameron slowly nods her head in understanding._

"_Was there something else Cameron?" John smiles as he looks up into her eyes, even his eyes are smiling._

"_Yes John, there is something else. Barnes wants to speak with you, shall I send him in?"_

"_In a moment Cameron…I'm still struggling with this program." John looks back at the monitor and lets out another deep sigh._

"_John, I can take a look at the program for you…and fix it." Cameron steps forward to the desk and leans in front of the monitor._

_John moves his chair back to allow her the room to do her handiwork._

_Cameron begins to type in commands and fly through data, her hands are almost a blur as she locates and repairs the software glitch._

_John can only sit back and admire the speed and intelligence Cameron possesses. His eyes move from the keyboard to her face._

_Without realizing it, he brings his hand up to brush away a stray strand of hair from her cheek and tucks it behind her ear._

_Cameron stops her typing and looks over to John in surprise. John had never done anything like that before, it had caught her off guard.  
_

"Miss? Are you okay?"

Cameron looks over to the older woman standing near by to her. The woman has a concerned look on her face.

"I'm sorry…I must have been daydreaming." Cameron replied and then asks. "Are the machines up and running?"

The woman gives Cameron a curious look, then she speaks. "Miss…that's what I just told you."

"Oh…Thank you." Cameron smiles and sits down in the chair by her chosen computer.

The woman shakes her head and walks off towards the main desk.

Cameron begins her search for accessing records and files to create her new identity. Her fingers fly across the keyboard as she does her searches and breaks through the encrypted sites to set up her bank accounts, enroll into Crestview High school, and construct her new identity from scratch.

Moments later Cameron sits back and places her hands behind her head, a wry smile playing across her lips as she views her new identity and various bank accounts with adequate funds to help her integrate into the town. _Now I can go to the bank and withdraw funds to help purchase a wardrobe, find suitable living quarters and a vehicle._

Cameron clears any trace of her being on any web sites and any data that may point to her being on the library computer. Slowly she gets up and turns to leave the library, passing by the main desk she smiles and thanks the older woman.

The older woman smiles back, but she still has a puzzled look on her face, mainly due to her still trying to figure out the pretty, but strange new girl. The woman's eyes follow the slender girl with the odd way of walking, right up until she was out the main doors.

"Very pretty girl, but so strange." The woman quietly muttered to herself as she prepared a stack of returned books to be put away.

Cameron walked out of the library doors and down the steps, she then proceeded to march her way towards the bank.

Seeing as it was now shortly after ten in the morning, she was sure the bank would now be open and then she could withdraw the necessary funds in order to purchase items she needed.

The town was busier now, people were rushing about to get the days shopping done and to run their errands, only stopping to take a quick glance at the new girl with the weird way of walking.

Cameron was oblivious to the odd looks she was getting, she just kept her feet stomping forward towards the bank building and her eyes glancing around for any threats.

Arriving at the bank doors, Cameron pulled open the glass doors and proceeded inside the Bank of America. The bank was typical of any bank in any town, fairly drab and nothing outstanding when it came to how the interior was set up, even the two tellers at the counter looked bored.

Cameron walked up to the first teller, she smiled as she locked eyes with the girl behind the counter.

The girl smiled back and greeted Cameron. "Good morning miss."

"Good morning." Cameron replied pleasantly.

"How can I help you this morning?"

Cameron began to explain to the girl what she needed and recited the account numbers without hesitation. The girl punched up Cameron's new account and was surprised at the amount listen in it.

"Miss… this is a lot of money, are you sure you want to withdraw that much?"

"Yes" Cameron replied as she leveled her gaze directly into the girls face.

"I'll need to talk to my manager miss." The girl turned to go get the manager.

"No problem…I'll wait here." Cameron's voice dropped a couple of octaves as she answered. Her face became expressionless as she waited for the manager.

A short, portly man in his fifties made his way to the counter where Cameron was standing. He greeted her in a pleasant manor, but had a wary look on his face.

"Good morning miss, my name is Mr. Peters." He said pleasantly.

"Good morning Mr. Peters." Cameron returned the pleasant tone and smiled at him.

The man's ace lit up as he took in Cameron's beaming grin. The girl beside him seemed unimpressed and even a bit irritated by how the man was reacting to Cameron.

"Are you sure you want to take out five thousand dollars?" Peters asked.

"Yes" Cameron replied with authority.

The man looks at the paperwork and at the account displayed on the computer monitor.

He glances over to the teller, giving her a curious look, he then looks back at Cameron and smiles again.

"Well I don't see any problem here, but it will take us a few minutes to gather the funds for you. Would you like to sit down in my office and wait?"

"That will be just fine… Thank you Mr. Peters." Cameron flashed Peters another smile.

Peters waved at Cameron to follow him.

The teller was obviously not pleased and vented her frustrations by muttering under her breath. "Never fails…he sees a pretty girl smile and he becomes putty in their hand."

Cameron heard every word the teller said under her breath, but chose to ignore her and proceeded to follow Mr. Peters into his office.

Upon entering the office, Cameron did a quick scan of its interior. _Large desk with high back leather chair, family pictures on the desk, a painting of a sailing ship on the wall behind the leather chair, two smaller low back leather chairs placed in front of the desk, three fake plants, papers on the desk …typical manager's office. _Cameron deduced.

Peters pulled out one of the chairs in front of the desk and motioned for her to sit down.

Cameron smiled and leisurely at herself down in the chair and thanked Mr. Peters.

"Would you like any refreshments miss?" Peters eagerly asked.

"No thank you." Cameron responded with a faint smile.

"Fine then…I'll go take care of some paper work and make sure you have the funds promptly." Peters grinned and turned to leave the room, but stumbled as his feet got tangled up.

Cameron pretended not to notice and looked away before the embarrassed man could make an attempt to cover up his clumsiness.

Peters didn't return to the room for almost ten minutes. During that time Cameron just sat patiently waiting in the chair.

Finally Peters returned, being careful not to repeat his embarrassing act, he gingerly stepped into the room and carefully made his way around to his chair. He had an envelope in his hand, along with some documents.

"I'll just get you to sign a couple of more papers Miss Phillips and you can be on your way." Peters cheerfully chirped.

He slid the papers towards Cameron and indicated where she should sign.

Cameron picked up a pen nearby and signed.

"Well then, I think we are all done now. I'll just hand you the copies of the papers and the funds, then you can be on your way." Peters separated the copies of paper, handed some to Cameron, then he counted out the cash in front of her, placed it in an envelope and slid the package towards her.

Cameron took the cash and looked up to Peters. "Thank you Mr. Peters." She smiled sweetly, stood up and turned to leave.

"It was a pleasure Miss Phillips." Peters responded with a grin as he slowly stared at Cameron from top to bottom and back up again. "Anytime you need anything, just call me." Peters quickly grabbed a business card from his desktop, wrote something on the back of it and handed it to her.

"Here's my card….and I put my private cell number on the back, just in case you need any help after bank hours." Peters winked.

Gently taking the card from the older man, Cameron brushed her fingers over his. She heard him suck in a deep breath, but she was more interested in getting readings from him. _Elevated heart rate…seems erratic…He is slightly overweight, possibly a sign of him developing heart problems. Salinity is high, temperature is high…he has an interest in me. This could help me. _Cameron smiled, but her smile wasn't just for his benefit, she had just learned how she could get certain people to help her, all she had to do was act sweet and innocent.

"Thank you Mr. Peters…I won't hesitate to call you if I need help."

Cameron exited Mr. Peters office and proceeded to make her way out of the bank. Curios looks from various bank employees fell upon her as she walked out of the building.

Her next order of business was to secure some sort of permanent residence and a vehicle.

….

It had been a few hours since Cameron left the bank, she had picked up a local newspaper and looked through the classifieds. It was there that she found a listing for a house for rent, just outside of the town, near to the high school.

She called the agent handling the rental property from a pay phone and made arrangements to meet the agent by the library in half an hour.

During that time, Cameron made her way to a bench near to the library and sat down to observe the people walking by. _Sitting down should draw less attention to myself and I can observe how these people interact with each other._

Unfortunately Cameron was still a bit green when it came to fitting in. She may have sat down, but her posture was not in keeping with how a normal girl her age would sit. Her terminator traits were still kicking in.

Cameron was sitting bolt upright with her hands resting on her lap. Her head was slowly moving from left to right, panning along a predetermined pathway she had selected to help her observe. Her odd behavior was getting her noticed and garnering her some weird looks.

She was finally noticing the looks directed at her and decided to review her files on the subject.

**Searching Files…**

**Files found…**

**Run Files…**

_Cameron had been standing beside John in the mess hall for a few minutes, as he sat to eat his lunch. Her stance could be compared to that of a panther ready to pounce on anything that came to close, to her John. She kept her eyes on the small crowd around her and John, her head panning back and forth as she scanned the people for any threats._

_John stopped eating and looked up at Cameron._

"_Cameron?"_

"_Yes John." Cameron replied without looking down._

"_You stick out like a sore thumb…Why don't you sit down across from me?" John asked as he pointed to the empty seat across from him at the table._

_Cameron looked down at John, her face almost childlike in its wonder over what he said._

_She looked to both her hands for a moment and wiggled her thumbs, then she looked back over to John._

"_John? I don't have a sore thumb and I cannot stick out like one…Please explain."_

_John raised his eyebrow and smirked. "If you sit down, I will explain the saying to you." _

_Again John indicated with his hand for her to sit down._

_Cameron reluctantly agreed, but still maintained herself on high alert to protect John from any threats as she sat down across from him._

_John began to explain things to Cameron, once she stopped scanning and looked straight at him. She locked onto his eyes as he began to speak._

_Her eyes widened with wonder as he explained the finer details of certain sayings and how she should observe people more to become better at being a person._

"_A better person John?" She asked innocently._

"_Yes Cameron…a better person. You are something unique and special, but you still have a lot to learn in order to fit in." John replied in a serious tone of voice._

"_Fit in?" Cameron was puzzled over the term._

"_You know, for someone so smart, you can be a bit of an air head." John smirked, but was met with a blank stare. He shook his head and continued to explain more. "Fit in…as in…blending in, infiltrating. Air head…ummm…"_

"_Air Head, a designated area in a hostile territory that has been seized for allowing air landing of further troops and supplies." Cameron cut in and answered confidently._

"_Nope…not that kind of air head." John had a huge grin on his face._

_Cameron's brow furrowed and she pressed her lips into a thin line, she was confused._

"_Air head can also mean…dingbat, dumbass…usually hot looking girls tend to be less smart and so guys will call them air heads. Does that help explain?" John looked into Cameron's perplexed face and took a sip of his coffee._

_She looked down as if in deep thought, seconds later she looked up again and answered with another question._

"_Am I a hot looking girl John?"_

_John's coffee went down the wrong way. He coughed and sputtered to regain his breath and dignity._

_Cameron rose up from her seat and went around to attend to him. She was worried something bad had happened to him_

"_John?...are you okay?" Cameron leaned in to study his face and placed her hand on his to take readings._

_John had managed to have coffee travel down his windpipe and up through his nose at the same time, as well as spilling a fair amount of the dark liquid all over the table. His face was beet red from having air cut off and from embarrassment._

_Unsure as to what to do, Cameron kept her hand on his and monitored his readings._

"_John, are you in pain?"_

_John shook his head and managed to gasp. "I'm fine"_

"_John…your face is red. Can you breathe?" Cameron leaned closer to John, her eyes widened with worry._

_John recovered enough to breathe properly. He took a breath and answered her._

"_Cameron…I'm fine. I just swallowed the coffee the wrong way. That happens when someone says something or asks something surprising or shocking." He looked directly into her eyes._

_His look was met with a blank stare._

"_Cameron…you are an attractive girl, but you are not dumb. You just need more experience being around people, so you can pick up on how people interact. Look at how they walk, talk, sit… watch and learn." John's face softened as he noticed Cameron's blank look change to a glimmer of understanding._

"_Thank you for explaining John." Cameron replied sweetly with a slight hint of a smile._

Cameron decided to sit in a more relaxed fashion.

She slouched back and crossed her legs, leaving one arm on her lap and the other draped nonchalantly over the armrest of the bench. Unfortunately, she still looked like the bad ass girl, but she looked a bit more natural as one.

Minutes later Carol, the Realtor, showed up in her white Mercedes to pick up Cameron and show her the house for rent.

Typical of a Realtor, Carol was dressed in the latest fashion and her hair was perfect.

The whole drive to the house for rent consisted of Carol talking the whole time. Cameron sat back and remained quiet, unless she was asked a specific question.

They arrived at the house for rent, it was about two miles from the high school.

Cameron was ushered in to the house and given the grand tour.

Once shown the entire house, Cameron had a couple of questions.

"Does the house come fully furnished?" Cameron inquired.

"Why yes dear…it comes fully furnished and even has dishes and cutlery too." Carol beamed.

"Is the house equipped for internet?" Cameron asked.

"I'm not sure dear… but I can inquire for you." Carol replied.

"I'll take it." Cameron answered.

"But I never told you the price." Carol was confused. It wasn't very often people agreed to renting without hearing the asking price.

"I'll take it and I'll pay in advance."

"Well I do need first and last months rent in advance, for use as a damage deposit. The rent for this house fully furnished is $900.00 a month, plus utilities." Carol explained.

"I'll pay for the damage deposit, plus two months in advance." Cameron pulled out her cash and counted out $3600.00 dollars.

Carol was visibly shocked, but soon recovered and proceeded to take Cameron's money. She pulled out her file on the house, wrote out a receipt and laid out the paperwork for Cameron to sign.

"Can I move in right away?" Cameron inquired with a shy smile and silky smooth voice.

"Cameron, I don't see why not. You paid well in advance and made my day today. Enjoy your new place." With that last comment, Carol put out her hand to shake.

Cameron shook Carol's hand and thanked her.

Not a moment later, Carol had left Cameron the keys to the house and was out the door.

Cameron stood in her new house with a pleased look on her face. _Everything is coming into place. As soon as I can get a computer and internet, I can start my search for John and prepare for his arrival to Red Valley._

The first week was turning out to be very productive for Cameron, soon she would be able to re-connect with her John and begin her mission to protect him from harm.

Cameron walked over to the sofa in the living room sat down, crossed her legs and slouched back into the soft cushion.

A hint of a smile came across her lips as she slid back, placed her hands behind her head and got comfortable while planning ahead for finishing off the items still left on her list of things to do. Today had been very successful, more so than she had calculated.

_Soon I will be with John again…soon I will be able to protect him and be close to him._

**Authors note- **

I had a tough time with this chapter as I never expected to go any further with the story, but I do hope you enjoy it!

Please review!

Thank you to all those that reviewed this story...olischulu, phantomwriter05, Kaotic2, Deathstar, morded, Nyrki, Stormbringer951, The1Russter, Cartman-2029, Gypsy069, Sasha Starr, Steel Dragon64, EvilTheLast, Nova, Vasara, uncommoner, macgamer...and any others I might have missed !

Thanks again to Russ and D for helping me with the story...you guys are the best !

Moe


	5. Chapter 5: Trying to Fit In

**Chapter 5: Trying to fit in**

Cameron's first day in her new home was spent settling in and familiarizing herself with the interior and exterior surroundings.

The next few days were filled with Cameron learning to try to fit in as a normal teen, while she remained in the house, she prepared herself for further training in infiltration.

She had ventured out to the mall once, but only to observe people briefly and to pick up the latest teen magazines for providing her with information on how to act, dress, and become a 'normal' teenage girl.

Cameron had also begun watching TV. Some daytime soap opera shows such as Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless. She found them to be a bit slow going for her, as she was interested in learning fast, but she did see how couples interacted and made it a point to log in any key points to her memory.

Cameron felt it would be in her best interest to learn as much about human relations as possible. Being able to get close to John and fool him into thinking she was a normal girl was of utmost importance, failure to do so could jeopardize her whole reason for traveling to the past.

If she was unable to contact John or get close to him, he could end up dead and her mission would be a disaster.

Evening shows were much more promising. Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson's Creek, Party of Five and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were among the shows she had made a note to watch, although Buffy was a different kind of show, what with Demons and Vampires being depicted to be threatening humanity. Cameron made a note to research more into Vampires and Demons, just to make sure they would not become a threat to John.

Interaction between teenagers seemed simple enough at first glance, but once Cameron researched deeper, she found that infiltration would be a lot harder to pull off in the past than it was in the future. Present day courtship and relationships seemed much more complicated than those experienced in the future, where Cameron had come from.

Upon seeing how teen girls dressed in public and on the TV shows, Cameron resolved to start gathering a wardrobe so as to have the ability to blend in better. She had seen how many girls on the Television had managed to be wearing different clothes from episode to episode or from a daytime scene to nighttime scene.

_Girls must have a large wardrobe and so should I. _Cameron thought to herself.

Cameron checked her internal chronometer, the time was 10 am and it was Saturday July 10th, 1999. She had been in the past for 12 days, but still had more to do before she would be able to find her John.

She still needed to find suitable transportation, a computer and have Internet access from home, but most importantly she required more interaction with people so she could hone her infiltration skills to perfection.

Cameron came to the conclusion that staying in the house would not get her any further in preparing for John's arrival.

_I must find a suitable vehicle to use for transportation and transporting any large items I require._

Cameron knew that traveling while carrying large items for a long distance would most likely attract unwanted attention to herself. She also knew she needed something reliable, but not brand new.

_A Jeep or half ton truck should do fine._

It was at that moment when a new file came to Cameron's attention.

**Run File…**

_John and Cameron had just finished meeting with militia leaders of Outpost Zenith. It had been only the second time John had visited this fairly new resistance outpost, but the first for Cameron._

_Rumors had preceded their arrival to the camp, the rumors whispered behind closed doors or when higher ranking leaders were not present._

_When word got out that Skynet had managed to replace a resistance fighter with an exact copy, people were shocked beyond belief. Once people learned the machine had been captured and reprogrammed to serve the resistance, they were relieved._

_Many other machines had been captured and wiped clean of Skynet programming. Most of the time they worked out fine, but sometimes the machines went bad again and then went on killing rampages._

_The machine made in the image of Corporal Allison Young was thought to have been destroyed, after being analyzed for any important clues it may have held in its software._

_People who knew John Connor were aware of his close relationship with Allison and had just naturally thought he would destroy the exact duplicate of her as a message to Skynet._

_It came as a huge surprise to them, when it was learned that John had reprogrammed the machine to be his personal body guard._

_With Cameron being constantly by John's side, rumors grew in both the upper and lower ranks that he was either sleeping with the machine, being controlled by the machine or both. It didn't help that she was almost always by John's side, where ever he went. _

_As John and Cameron made their way out of the camp headquarters and towards the parked Jeep, both civilians and troops stopped to stare. Mostly out of curiosity of being able to catch a glimpse of John Connor, leader of the resistance, but others stared at the young girl, the one rumored to be a machine and his lover._

_Cameron could hear comments being whispered._

"_There goes Connor with his Metal Lover."_

"_How can he stand to be with that thing?"_

"_Are you sure she is a machine? She looks so real."_

"_Fucking metal bitch."_

"_Connor must be crazy to be with a machine."_

_Most of the comments Cameron ignored as she kept pace with John, but the nastier comments about her or John, she made sure to look straight at that person with her icy death glare._

_Cameron knew she needed to protect John not only from Skynet, but from his own people too. She knew from intel reports that the resistance was on shaky ground. People were tired of war with the machines and they blamed John for not being able to end the war quickly by destroying Skynet._

_With some of the reprogrammed machines going rogue, it only made matters worse. Cameron had learned from the intel that some people believed John had made a deal with Skynet. In their opinion it was only a matter of time before everyone would become slaves to Skynet._

_Cameron kept close to her John, always about half a step behind him and constantly on the lookout for any trouble. _

_John glanced back. "Hey…are you my shadow or something?"_

_Cameron gave him a puzzled look and responded. "Shadow? No John I am not your shadow." Cameron pointed to the ground. "John…your shadow is right there."_

"_Ahh Cameron…you have so much to learn." John chuckled. _

_Again, Cameron gave John a puzzled look, furrowing her brow in question as she remained a step behind John._

"_I'll explain later Cameron, remind me about it in a while."_

"_What time would you like me to remind you John?"_

"_Time? Hell I dunno…" John thought for a second as he walked. _

"_I need a time John." Cameron insisted._

"_You know…sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass Cameron."_

"_Your ass looks fine to me John…now tell me the time so I know when to remind you."_

_John stopped in his tracks and looked over at Cameron. "What did you say?"_

"_Tell me the time so I…"_

"_No no no…what you said before."_

_Cameron's face went blank for a second as she went through her files, then she smiled. "I need a time John."_

"_I meant the line you said in between those…"_

_Cameron smiled sweetly._

_John locked eyes with Cameron and smiled back. "Are you teasing me?"_

"_Teasing is not part of my programming John."_

"_Huh…could have fooled me."_

_Cameron's eyes seemed to sparkle as she responded. "Maybe I did… shall we get going now John?"_

_Cameron proceeded to walk ahead of John, towards the Jeep._

_John remained standing still, not really sure of what just happened. Seconds later he shook his head, sighed out loud and proceeded to walk towards the vehicle._

_Cameron was already standing beside the drivers door, reaching for the handle to open it, when John strode up beside her._

"_Cameron?"_

"_Yes John?" _

"_You really don't need to open the door for me."_

"_I was opening the door for myself John." Cameron replied bluntly._

"_You want to drive?"_

"_Yes John"_

"_You know how to drive?"_

"_Yes John…I should drive. You look tired and need rest." Cameron looked straight at John with a hint of concern on her face._

_John ran the back of his hand across his forehead sighed and waved towards the Jeep. "By all means, be my guest."_

"_Thank you John." Cameron responded with a ghost of a smile, turned and climbed into the vehicle._

_John strode around to the passenger side and climbed into the seat. He looked over to Cameron sitting in the driver's seat and lifted his brow in question. "Are you sure you know how to drive Cameron?"_

_Cameron stared over at John blankly and replied confidently. "I have detailed instructions on how to operate various vehicles John."_

"_Okay…you're the driver." John chuckled._

"_Yes I am." Cameron answered him, her forehead wrinkling in puzzlement over his statement._

"_John?"_

"_Yes Cameron?"_

"_Please buckle up…for safety."_

_John rolled his eyes, muttered to himself and proceeded to strap himself in._

_Cameron nodded her approval and turned the key to the crank position._

_Nothing happened._

_Cameron looked perplexed as she let go of the key._

_John leaned over and looked at her feet. "Cameron?"_

"_Yes John."_

"_You need to put your foot on the clutch pedal and press down."_

_Cameron looked down at her feet and noticed she had not depressed the clutch pedal._

"_Thank you for explaining, I will make a note of that John."_

_John thought he detected a hint of embarrassment in Cameron's face. He was sure she must be, as she failed to look straight at him when she thanked him and normally she always make eye contact._

_Upon placing her foot on the pedal, pushing it down and then turning the key, the Jeep roared to life._

_A hint of a smile curled up on Cameron's lip as she looked over to John. "Please fasten your seat belt John…for safety."_

"_Yes M'am." John winked and chuckled to his self as he slipped the belt towards the buckle._

_Cameron placed the shifter into first gear and released the clutch._

_The jeep lurched forward and stalled._

_Cameron tilted her head in confusion._

_John laughed out loud._

_Visibly irritated over what had just happened, Cameron gripped the steering wheel tightly in frustration. The wheel creaked and bent slightly from the extreme pressure exerted on it, her palm prints were now permanently etched into its surface._

"_This vehicle is not operating properly John."_

_John had a twinkle in his eye as he replied. "It's not the vehicle, it's the operator of the vehicle."_

_Cameron refused to look John in the eye, instead she fired up the vehicle again, released the clutch and once more, the jeep lurched forward, stuttered along and then stalled._

_John roared with laughter._

_Cameron shot John an icy glare._

_Seconds later a young soldier ran up to the vehicle, his face filled with worry. "Is everything okay sir?"_

_John wiped a tear from his eye. "Everything if fine private…the driver is just a little rusty."_

"_Everything is fine, please step away from the vehicle." Cameron gave the soldier a menacing look as she spoke to him, causing the private to back away fairly quickly._

_Once the private was out of earshot, Cameron looked over to John and without a hint of emotion, she voiced her disapproval. "I am made of advanced alloys overlaid with synthetic flesh…I do not rust."_

_John shook his head, leaned over to look her in the eyes and smiled at the seemingly annoyed cyborg. "Cameron…when I said rusty, I meant it like as if you were out of practice…it's a saying…now…would you like me to drive?" He motioned towards the steering wheel with his hand._

"_NO…everything is fine…I am just a little… rusty." Cameron snapped. Again she started the vehicle, put it into gear and this time she revved the engine up before releasing the clutch._

_The jeep lurched a bit less, gathered momentum and continued along the gravel road. Cameron casually depresses the clutch and shifted into second gear. The vehicle smoothly sped up, without a stumble._

"_Ahhhh…much better Cameron… I was beginning to worry I might end up getting whiplash." John teased._

_Cameron immediately shot a look sideways and answered with assurance. "I have the vehicle well under control John, your risk of injury from my driving will be minimal." _

"_As long as I get to base in one piece, I'll be happy." John looked over to Cameron and grinned. _

_Cameron quickly shot John a glance, her lips curling up into a hint of a smile before she spoke. "My plans are to get you to base in the same condition as you are now."_

"_Well you are my main body guard…"_

"_Protector!" Cameron cut in and corrected._

"_Well after only a few weeks, you have shown some remarkable progress Cameron."_

"_I learn and adapt quickly John…It's in my programming."_

_John stared closely at Cameron as she drove onwards. She noticed out of the corner of her eye as she scanned the road, John was staring intently at her._

"_Is something wrong John?" Cameron questioned_

"_You are truly remarkable Cameron…you grow more into a person as each day passes."_

_Cameron's lip edged up into a whisper of a smile. "Thank you for the compliment John."_

_Inwardly Cameron was quite pleased that John liked her and that he considered her a person. His kindness and forwardness was giving her a funny 'feeling', she was beginning to have reactions to his playful banter and something inside of her programming was telling her to keep very close to John. Not just for protection but for something more, something she still did not understand._

**End File Playback…**

Cameron stood at the front door, her hand grasping the knob.

"Protector and person" She repeated as a ghost of a smile came across her lips.

She preferred to be called protector over being called a 'body guard'. After all, based on what she knew and what she had experienced, she was more than just a body guard. Cameron was a friend and confidant to John Connor, as well as a top notch military advisor.

She also liked that John had treated her like a person. Cameron had tried hard to please John and blend in as a person. To be treated like a person gave her a sense of accomplishment and acceptance, even if it was only John that praised her progress.

Her time with future John had only been months, but in that time both Cameron and John had become very close. Too close for some people, as they felt it was not right for John to be so intimate with a cyborg made in the image of a woman who died trying to protect the resistance and its leader.

Both Cameron and John learned much from each other in those months. Cameron learned about humanity and John learned that a machine could grow into a person and develop a personality all on her own.

She was still bothered about the circumstances surrounding the reason why she was sent back. John had told her it was so that his younger self could be better protected, but Cameron knew there was more to it.

She had detailed files on what people had said, when they thought she couldn't hear them. Rumors, lies, hurtful things were said about her and John. One person in particular made life miserable for both Cameron and John, Jesse Flores.

Jesse had screwed up a vital mission to help gather and bring back home, important cargo aboard the Jimmy Carter submarine. She and others on the sub opened the package, releasing the T-1000 series machine, a machine that had split away from Skynet, along with other machines. It was Jesse and her human crew that put the alliance between the resistance and the machine resistance into jeopardy.

Going against orders, destroying Queeg and scuttling the Jimmy Carter had set the resistance months, if not years behind in the war against Skynet. An important supply ship was gone, the shaky alliance between man and machine was shattered and people began to lose faith in John Connor.

Things had been especially bad, up until Jesse mysteriously disappeared shortly before Cameron went back in time. Even after Jesse was gone, rumors swirled around about Cameron being behind Jesse's sudden vanishing. It seemed no matter what happened, the blame was put on the machines in service of the resistance, especially Cameron.

Turning the door knob and stepping out into the mornings bright sunshine, Cameron decided to put some of her concerns away in a file for later. She needed to concentrate on obtaining a vehicle.

It was a short while later when Cameron arrived at the used car dealership. A small car lot filled with fifty or so vehicles of various vintage, style and make. She began her search by walking around in the lot, looking at the cars and trucks, scanning and collecting data on various vehicles.

**Harry's Auto Sales and Service**

It had been a slow morning for Harry. Usually Saturday's were a lot busier, but today it seemed like nobody was looking to buy. After reading the birthday card he had just received from his niece in the mail on Friday, Harry tossed the envelope in the trash can and leaned back to pin the card on his message board. He eased back in his worn office chair, put his feet up on the old oak desk and fully prepared to close his eyes for a late morning nap.

Just before Harry closed his eyes, he looked out towards the front of the office, through the large storefront window, just in case someone was checking out a vehicle in the lot.

To his surprise, Harry spotted a pretty young girl slowly walking amongst the parked vehicles_._

_Finally…a potential customer, maybe today won't be a total loss._

Harry slid his shoes off of the table, stood up, adjusted his belt around his thick waist and grabbed his suit jacket. After struggling for a moment, Harry managed to slip his rather tasteless looking jacket on.

Harry looked down to his midsection and grumbled. "I really must get back on that diet again. This jacket is getting too small for me!"

Harry gave up on buttoning his jacket and instead, he focused on getting to the pretty brunette and snaring her into purchasing a new vehicle.

His luck was turning for the better as the young woman made her way towards the office.

…

Cameron had been pacing through the car lot, using a mapped out grid pattern to ensure she saw every vehicle in a timely manor. Most cars were either too old or too small for what she needed them for. So she came to the conclusion that a truck would suit her needs the best.

She decided to go inside the office and confront the owner on pricing and availability of what might fit into her needs for transportation.

Cameron walked towards the door with purpose, opened it and strode in.

"Good morning." A male voice called out from the far end of the room, behind a large wooden desk.

Cameron stopped and looked up to scan who was speaking to her. She tilted her head and squinted at the large man making his way towards her from behind the desk. She noticed his jacket was too small, Cameron calculated he needed to wear one at least 3 sizes larger and it was made with very bright colored cloth.

_Not a good choice of a color combination if he was trying to escape detection. He must be the owner of this car sales lot. _Cameron frowned.

She looked over to his desk, it was littered with papers and wrappers from old candy bars.

Behind on the wall, a large cork board was hanging with notes and a couple of birthday cards. Cameron scanned the board and stored any information that might be useful to her.

"The names Harry…I see yer lookin' for something…how 'bout we go outside and look over the little gems in the lot?" Harry motioned towards a two door sport coupe just outside the office and proceeded to usher Cameron out the door.

"That vehicle will not suit my needs." Cameron replied curtly.

"No need to get upset miss, I'm sure we'll find you something." Harry replied with a leer as his eyes wandered up and down Cameron's slender form. She reminded him of his niece that had sent him the birthday card, a sweet young thing named Kim

A normal girl would have felt very uncomfortable around Harry, but Cameron ignored his stare and proceeded to look around at the vehicles. It was at that moment when she spied an older Ford off to the far side of a row of vehicles.

With purpose, Cameron strode over to the F- 250. It was two tone, mostly blue with a silver accent section along the side of the vehicle.

_Four wheel drive, ¾ ton F-series truck…late 80's to early 90's vintage. _Cameron mused to herself as data poured in.

Harry ambled up behind Cameron, making sure he brushed up against her slender form. He was close enough to smell the sweet scent of Lilac in her hair and he took the liberty to draw in a deep breath as he moved in closer to her.

_Ahhh... if only I was a bit younger._

"Mmmm…you smell really nice…maybe we can work out a deal, when ya find something you like." Harry whispered softly into Cameron's ear.

"I am sure a deal can be reached… I need to take a closer look at this truck and you need to keep your distance." She replied indifferently.

"Well let me go grab the keys for ya girly." Harry smiled and let his hand casually slide over Cameron's rear. "I'll be back in a flash."

"My name is not girly, it's Cameron and no need to hurry, I'll be checking over this F-250 while I wait for you to return with the keys." Cameron called back as she opened the drivers' door to reach in and pop the hood release.

Harry chuckled to his self. _ This girl is a real firecracker and she has a body to die for._

He turned and headed off towards the office to grab the truck keys.

In the mean time, Cameron proceeded to check the general condition of the truck. She started off by lifting the hood to look into the engine bay and then she began to check the various fluid levels.

_The battery is corroded at the terminals, oil level is low and contains high levels of contaminants. The serpentine drive belt is cracked and coolant level is below the safe operating range._

Accessing files, Cameron came to the conclusion that the truck had been poorly maintained. Chances were, she could obtain it for a reasonable price.

Upon arriving back, Harry couldn't help but notice the cute brunette standing up on her tippy toes to look under the hood of the truck. He took the opportunity to get close again and place his hands on her midsection.

"Careful miss, you might get all dirty…lemme help you." Harry noticed her skin was soft, but her muscles felt hard as rock as he applied pressure to hold her steady. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching, it wouldn't look good to see a middle aged man fondling a teenage girl.

Cameron leaned back, turned her head and looked down at Harry's hands on her waist. "You can let go now, there is little risk of me falling or getting dirty. Besides I can do laundry, if need be."

Harry chuckled as he eased his grip "Well aren't you just full of surprises."

"Yes I am." Cameron replied with a twist of her lip.

Harry took the opportunity to let one of his hands slide towards her rear to give it another light touch. Quicker as a flash, Cameron grabbed Harry's hand and gave it a painful twist.

"Ouch...no need to get rough now." Harry yelped.

Cameron looked up into Harry's eyes. "If you value your hand, you will refrain from touching my backside."

Harry's face turned beet red from embarrassment and he nodded in meek agreement. "Okay...okay...I'll keep my hands to myself. Now can you let go?"

Cameron released her iron grip on Harry's hand and he instantly pulled it back to rub away some of the soreness. Getting back to his sales pitch, Harry tried steering the conversation towards Cameron's impression of the four by four.

"So….you like the truck huh…" Harry began before getting cut off.

"The truck has flaws."

"What?"

"Would you like a list of the problems I have noticed this truck has?"

"Like what?" Harry folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his gaze.

Cameron proceeded to rattle of a list of issues she came across when closely examining the truck. Harry stood back with his mouth agape.

"How the hell did you know all that? You're only a girl." Harry had come across sharp customers before, but he never though a young girl had it in her to be so good at finding faults.

_She must have a Dad or brother that helped teach her how to fix cars._

"I read a lot and don't sleep much… Now shall we talk about the price?" Cameron tilted her head up at Harry and locked her eyes with his.

Harry thought for a moment and brought his hand up to scratch his thinning hair. "Well, the original price for this baby was almost twenty grand and it is generally in good shape… lets say eight thousand and I'll even fill up the tank for you."

Cameron glared at Harry.

Feeling a bit under pressure, Harry continued to explain. "Look little girl…this is a three quarter ton, four by four, fully loaded truck. Even the air and cruise works."

Cameron tilted her head. "Air? Cruise?"

_One second the girl is a genius and the next she's acting like she knows nothing. I don't get her. _Harry pondered over what Cameron had just asked.

Letting out a sigh, Harry explained what air and cruise meant. "Miss…"

"My name is Cameron"

"Cameron…okay…air is the air conditioning in the truck and cruise is the cruise control used to maintain a constant speed while traveling on the highway. You get what I mean?"

Cameron paused for a split second and then smiled. "Thank you for explaining Harry, but the truck is not worth eight thousand dollars."

"The truck has low mileage."

"The odometer indicates it has one hundred and eighty three thousand…"

"Okay…Okay…but it's all highway miles and the tires are almost new…"

"The tires have fifty percent wear Harry." Cameron crossed her arms as she stared into Harry's eyes.

"You certainly have nerves of steel missy." Harry chuckled

Cameron lifted her eyebrow up and tilted her lip up into a ghost of a smile.

"I am willing to pay two thousand five hundred for the truck."

Harry smacked his hand onto his forehead. "Miss…are you trying to ruin me? Cause at that price I lose money…How about you take it for a spin around the block and then decide on a price...okay?"

"Spin?"

"Yeah…test drive." Harry wondered how such a smart girl could be so dumb sometimes.

_Maybe she is some kind of brainiac…super smart…a girl nerd. _

Cameron thought for a moment, smiled and agreed. "Okay Harry, I will take the truck for a test drive and then decide on a price."

_The truck is still only worth what I offered._

Harry tossed Cameron the keys. "Gimme a second and I'll get a dealer plate to put on the truck…we wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the law."

Cameron furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "Trouble with the law would not be good for me or you Harry."

Harry rushed off to get the dealer plate and returned back within a minute. His face was flush and he was out of breath as he attached the plate to the truck's tailgate.

_Harry seems to be struggling…it is possible he may go into cardiac arrest._

Cameron made a note to try to close the deal for the truck soon as she was not sure if Harry be able to last much longer.

Cameron closed the hood and climbed into the truck. She turned the key to start the truck, but only got a click. Thoughts of what had happened to her in the future flooded her memories. Failure to start the F series because of a simple mistake she made, would not sit well with her. Deep down she hoped it was the trucks fault and not hers.

She quickly looked around to make sure the truck was indeed an automatic and thus required no depression of a clutch pedal to facilitate the engagement of the starter.

Cameron was pleased to see that the truck was an automatic and so it was most likely not her fault that it failed to start.

Harry's face dropped in defeat.

Cameron shot Harry a very menacing look.

"Pop the hood, it might just be a dirty or loose connection." Harry motioned towards the front of the truck.

Cameron obliged and proceeded to pull on the hood release.

Undoing the safety latch, Harry lifted the hood up and began to wiggle the corroded connections at the battery. He swore under his breath at the bad luck he was having that morning.

"Try it now." Harry called out to Cameron.

Cameron turned the key and the engine slowly spun over. Seconds later it roared to life.

With skill and an air of confidence, Cameron maneuvered the large truck out of its parking spot and proceeded to take it for a test drive. Five minutes later, she returned to the car lot and parked the truck back in its spot.

"So…what did you think?"

"The truck hesitates, it has sloppy steering and the left turn signal is not working…not to mention the problem with getting it started"

Harry dismissed the complaints with a wave of his hand. "Ahhh...just some minor stuff.

Nothing that a tune up, wheel alignment and new bulb won't fix."

Harry sighed and wiped his forehead. "Look miss...lets go inside and we can talk about price in my office."

"That will be fine Harry, but I have made up my mind on what I will offer." Cameron replied nonchalantly.

"Follow me miss." Harry grumbled.

The two made their way back to the office, Harry settling in behind the desk and Cameron sitting bolt upright in a chair across the desk from him.

Cameron narrowed her gaze at Harry. "Eighteen hundred dollars…cash…and I take the truck as is."

"You're killing me girly."

"No" Cameron tilted her head at the statement. She found it odd that negotiating a price would kill Harry.

Harry wasn't about to tell Cameron he picked the truck up at an auction for eleven hundred dollars, but he had a feeling he would have to bite the bullet and let the truck go for less. He knew the truck was in rough shape and needed work.

Cameron was the first person to show genuine interest in the truck and the day was a slow day for Harry. He decided to come down in price.

"If you're willing to do the work yourself, I'm willing to trim the price down a bit. Hows

about I let it go for thirty seven hundred?"

"Eighteen hundred dollars." Cameron replied steadfastly.

Harry groaned. "Okay…okay… twenty nine fifty…my final offer, but no free tank of gas."

"No" Cameron crossed her arms again. It was something she had seen on a TV show she had watched the other night. She noted that it was effective in getting the character what they wanted.

"What would your niece say if you tried to sell her something like this at such a high price?" Cameron shot out of the blue.

"What?" Harry was shocked.

"Your niece Kim...what would she say?"

"Do you know her?"

No...but she did send you a birthday card...and I would tell her how you tried to fondle me and sell me something for too much money."

Harry smirked. "Yeah...and how can you do that when you don't know her or where she lives?"

Cameron glanced down at the trash can then looked up into Harry's eyes. " Kim Peters lives at 189 Holland drive. That is just a short drive away in Santa Fe."

Harry's shoulders sank down in defeat.

"Fine…okay… Eighteen hundred cash and no free tank of gas…it's a deal." Harry responded with frustration, he stood up and held out his hand to seal the deal.

Cameron hesitated for a second, unsure of what to do. Eventually she too stood up and extended her hand to shake with Harry's. "Deal"

"Lets draw up the paperwork." Harry motioned towards the stack of papers on his desk.

Upon drawing up the papers, Harry filled out the forms with speed and tact. Cameron was impressed with the salesman's efficiency. Cameron in turn, pulled out a stack of cash and proceeded to count out eighteen hundred dollars for the truck and some extra cash to cover the taxes and insurance needed to finalize the agreement.

Harry's eyes shone as the cash was presented to him and he greedily took it and recounted it to make sure it was all there.

"It is the full amount required Harry."

"Yeah, but I like to count it for myself…just in case."

Cameron gave Harry a dirty look. She knew the amount was correct, she never made mistakes with counting.

Harry turned the papers around for Cameron to sign and handed over a pen, stopping to touch Cameron's hand.

"Mmm…you have such soft skin." Harry's voice dropped an octave and grew huskier.

"I'd like to sign the papers Harry, caressing my hand will not get that done. If you value being able to use your hand ever again, you will refrain from touching mine." Cameron replied with authority.

Harry quickly pulled his hand back, wincing at the thought of what had happened earlier and what Cameron might do this time around.

_She must be borderline nuts...I swear she'd end up ripping my hand off…how is it a hot girl like her is such a psycho?_

_Reminds me of a serial killer._

Cameron finished signing the papers, stood up from her seat and extended her hand. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you Harry, thank you. Ohhh...and if I run into your niece, I'll make sure to mention this incident"

Harry gave Cameron a dirty look. " you wouldn't would you?"

"We'll see Harry."

Harry stood up and hesitated before extending his hand out. "Make sure you don't tell anyone else how good of a deal you got."

"I'll think about it." Cameron smiled, turned and strode out of the office.

_My God _Harry thought to himself. _I just got swindled by a girl._

Harry sat back, sighed and put his feet back up on his desk.

Cameron made her way to the truck and placed the temporary insurance on the passenger side of the front windshield, just like Harry had instructed. She would get the proper plates and insurance on Monday, when the insurance broker was open. She started the vehicle, put it into gear and headed towards home.

Cameron was pleased with her progress. She was getting better and better every day with her interaction between herself and humans.

Now she had the transportation she needed to help her prepare for John's arrival. She was another step closer to being able to reunite with her John.

Before gathering the necessary items, Cameron would pick up some tools and perform repairs to the truck, to ensure it would function properly and be reliable. A breakdown during an escape could potentially endanger John and Cameron wanted to keep John as safe as possible.

Thoughts came back to Harry as Cameron rounded a corner. She wondered if it would have been better if she had just killed him and stuffed him into one of his cars. Since he was of little threat, she decided that maybe a letter to his niece would put him back in line and keep him from harassing other girls.

Cameron reviewed some files from when she had been watching TV.

_I think he would have been referred to as a 'perve'. A letter to Kim and maybe another visit to his business might straighten Harry out._

She lifted her eyebrow up while thinking.

_Things are looking good now. Everything is falling into place according to my plans._

Cameron curled her lip up into a hint of a smile. It wouldn't be long before she was back with her John again.

...

**Authors Note**- Thanks again to my beta readers for all the help.

This has been a tough chapter to write and I hope you enjoyed it. Any glaring mistakes...please PM me !

I'd like to add this fic is written for fun and I am not a pro at writing.

I do not own the terminator characters...but the story here is my idea.( as well as any characters I created)

Thank You for reading !

Moe


	6. Chapter 6:Thinking of You

** Chapter 6: Thinking of You**

_You know you truly love somebody when they hurt you so badly, but all you can think about it is the times when they made you smile._

_by Tana_

_How can I forget you when you're always on my mind? How can I not want you when you're all I want inside? How can I let you go when I can't see us apart? How can I not love you when you control my heart?_

_by Unknown_

It was a warm sunny Sunday morning in Red Valley as Cameron prepared to complete her work on the Ford truck. She had wisely chosen to dress appropriately for her latest attempt at vehicle repairs, especially since her first round at fixing the truck had ended up with her ruining a new pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, not to mention the grime that ended up in her hair, on her skin and under her fingernails.

After the last repair attempt and a thorough cleaning, she had gone to her computer and searched the net for the finer points of keeping clean while performing automotive maintenance. She then made her way to the mall and began to search for proper clothing. The female clerk had given Cameron a funny look when she had asked about clothing to use when repairing vehicles, but after a full explanation the lady had smiled warmly at Cameron and had congratulated her on being so resourceful. It wasn't long before Cameron had left the store with her new attire.

Wearing a baseball cap, her hair carefully tied up into a pony tail, Cameron exited the front door of her house and made her way to the truck. Instead of jeans and a shirt, she was now cloaked in formfitting coveralls and a pair of safety boots. Walking with purpose, she went to the back of the truck, lowered the tailgate and began to rifle through the tool box to acquire the proper items. Pulling out the required wrenches and sockets, Cameron thought back to when she had gone into the department store to purchase the tools.

She had employed some of her new found infiltrator skills to get the young male clerk to help her in choosing the right combination of tools for vehicle maintenance. He had practically fallen over himself to help Cameron out, especially when she locked her eyes with his and smiled sweetly after he had nervously asked if she needed help. The teenage clerk was awe struck with Cameron, she could have treated him like crap and he still would have done anything to ensure he was the one that took care of her. The strange thing that he had noticed was her weird mannerisms and a seemingly air headed outlook on life, not to mention her unusual strength when it came to carrying out the tool box weighing almost one hundred pounds.

"_I work out a lot" _Cameron called back over her shoulder as she made her way out through the automatic doors, leaving a stunned male clerk shaking his head in disbelief.

In preparation for her outings, Cameron had been watching more TV shows and read up on how to get men to do whatever she wanted, or so the women's magazine article had promised. She had been quite surprised at how accurate the article had been and used all of the tricks she had in her arsenal to ensure she got what she wanted, including the right clothing, make up and perfume. Wearing a white tank top, black mini skirt, and a pair of medium height shoes seemed to have done the trick, not to mention Cameron made sure she had perfected the right style of walk to grab attention in the tool department.

Still being unaware of the fact that she could look stunning while wearing a canvas tent, Cameron had practiced her walk and mannerisms in front of a mirror so as to ensure everything was perfect for her infiltration. Deep down she wanted to be perfect for John, her John. No one else mattered. She needed to make sure she would not make any mistakes, when it came to contacting young John Connor.

Getting back to the job at hand, Cameron carefully placed the tools on the lowered tailgate .Reaching further into the back of the truck box, she grabbed the cardboard box containing the new starter motor for the Ford. At the same moment a lone female figure slowly strolled up the driveway towards Cameron.

Jennifer was from down the block, she had passed by the new girl's house on a daily basis, ever since the girl had moved in. Usually Jennifer had walked her dog, but for some strange reason her Golden Retriever always barked like crazy and acted all skittish as he got closer to the new girl. It puzzled her greatly, especially since he was friendly to everyone, even the mailman.

Not wanting to be a bad neighbour, Jennifer decided to swing by and say hello to the new girl, minus her pet.

"Hey there." Jennifer called out to Cameron.

Cameron scanned the petite blonds form for threats and then puzzled over the girls greeting. _Why is this teenage female attempting to speak with me?_

After a few seconds Cameron responded with a forced smile and responded with a polite "Hello".

"I figured I would ummm...stop by and say hi to you...since you're new here." The young blond responded nervously.

"Yes...I am new here." Cameron replied stoically.

Jennifer gave the new girl a puzzled look, then continued. "I usually come by with my dog...his names Duke...but, well he seems to be freaked out by you...I dunno..."

"I'm not much of a dog person...I prefer cats." Cameron politely cut in.

"Ohh...well cats are nice too." Jennifer relaxed a bit and smiled. She looked around a bit, noticing the tools and various new parts neatly placed in the back of the truck.

"Ummm...you fix cars?"

"It's a truck." Cameron responded in a slightly irritated manor. This small talk was preventing her from making progress with her repairs.

Jennifer swallowed nervously, she was now unsure if it had been a good idea to stop by. After a few seconds, Jennifer decided to go ahead with her greeting.

"My name is Jennifer, but you can call me Jen."

"Cameron"

"Hi Cameron, it's nice to meet you." Jennifer smiled weakly and looked quickly to the ground, once she met Cameron's eyes.

Unsure what to do next, Cameron stood still with her hands at her side. She remained staring intently at Jennifer, scanning for any possible threatening gestures from the teenage girl standing in front of her. So far, the threat level was low.

Gathering up some courage, Jennifer continued trying to strike up a conversation with Cameron. Although the new girl seemed a little strange, Jennifer decided to hang around for a bit longer and maybe invite her out so they could get to know each other better. The new girl was pretty and seemed a bit lost, like she had no friends. Jennifer knew how that could be; she had been new to Red Valley just last year.

"Maybe a little later you'd like to go hang out at the mall for a bit?"

"Hang out?"

"Yeah...you know...go do some window shopping...maybe catch a movie..."

Getting more confused as Jennifer spoke, Cameron decided to cut in again.

"I have windows Jennifer... Why do we need to catch movies?" Cameron squinted in an attempt to understand, it was something she noticed a lot of people do when perplexed.

Jennifer burst out laughing. "Ohhh my gawd...you are so weird Cameron..." Jennifer smiled warmly, but noticed Cameron looked puzzled. Misreading what Cameron was puzzled about, Jennifer decided to clarify things. "...but in a good way. Just drop by my place, once you are done with fixing your truck...Okay?"

Cameron smiled back and nodded in approval. She needed to understand the way teens acted and talked, so as to infiltrate better. _Hanging out_ with Jennifer could prove beneficial in advancing her skills.

"Okay...I will _drop by_ after I am done with repairs."

"Okay...I'll see ya later Cameron... I'm in the yellow house...number twenty three... down this way." After pointing in the direction of her house, Jennifer turned to leave but stopped to look back and add with a smile. "Make sure you change clothes and clean up, we might bump into some boys."

Cameron furrowed her brow in puzzlement over Jennifer's statement, as she went back to working on the F-250.

_I plan to get clean...but why would I want to 'bump boys'?_

**Two hours later**

Cameron had finished repairs to the Ford, cleaned up her work area and proceeded to make herself presentable for venturing out to the shopping mall. She discarded her dirty coveralls and underwear in the laundry basket, and quickly she stepped into the shower to rinse the grime off her skin and dirt in her hair. She popped open the bottle of shampoo, sensors informed her of its chemical makeup as she sniffed at the opening. Cameron smiled once she recognised the scent...

**Searching data...**

**File found...**

**Run file...**

"_It's scent is Citrus"_

_Cameron first stared at the shampoo bottle then looked up at John. "Why do I need to use this shampoo John?" _

"_So you will...umm... smell much better." John responded in a matter of fact manner, but he let a grin slip out as he spoke. He tried to look serious, but failed miserably at it. _

"_You look amused John...why are you amused?" Cameron picked up on John's playful smile instantly. She knew he was hiding something from her, but she wasn't sure what it was._

_John waved his hand in the air and made a face as he pinched his nose with his fingers. "You smell pretty ripe."_

_Cameron frowned at John's last comment. "Ripe?"_

"_It's another way of saying you stink."_

"_Stink?"_

_John smacked his forehead in frustration. "Ripe..stinky...smelly...strong odour that is unappealing to other people. Do you know what I mean?"_

"_Yes John..." Cameron smiled sweetly. "I do now...thank you for explaining." _

_John shook his head. "I can't believe you were not taught anything about personal hygiene."_

"_I was not taught John... I had basic human interaction software installed. Keeping clean in this environment would draw suspicious attention to me..."_

"_So does smelling bad." John chuckled._

_Cameron gave John another puzzled look as he handed her another bottle. "What is this for John?"_

"_Body wash...very rare stuff..."_

"_So it should be saved for you to use John."_

"_It's for girls Cameron... Girly girl stuff...definitely not for guys." John responded with a sheepish grin._

"_So males do not use body wash?"_

"_We do when it's available...but not stuff made for girls."_

_Cameron studied the two bottles further before looking up to ask more questions._

"_John?"_

"_Yes Cameron?"_

"_Why are there different cleaning products for girls and boys?"_

_John paused for a second before answering her question, he knew he had opened a door to more questions from Cameron. In many ways she was brilliant, and then other times she was more like a child full of wonder and awe. She never ceased to surprise John on a daily basis._

"_Whew...okay...this is going to be tough Cameron." John took a deep breath then continued his attempt at explaining the finer aspects of how males and females approached cleanliness. "Girls like to look pretty, smell nice and have nice hair... Boys like to smell clean...well most do, but we don't want to smell pretty, we want to smell strong...masculine."_

_Cameron remained still as she processed things. She mulled over what he had just said, smiled and responded. "Thank you for explaining further, I will be back shortly so you can smell me...to make sure I smell like a girl."_

"_Take a towel too please...so you can dry off before re-dressing." John quickly grabbed a threadbare bath towel and handed the item to Cameron."Ohh...and make sure you dress before you exit the shower area!" He winced a bit and blushed slightly, remembering how Cameron had a habit of walking in on him, usually at the most inappropriate moment, like when he was taking a shower. She was only doing her job of being a body guard, but sometimes she managed to freak him out. _

_Cameron saw his visible discomfort, her sensors scanned the elevated body temperature and heart rate as his hand brushed up against hers while he handed the towel to her. She inwardly smiled to herself, fully knowing John liked her and he was working hard to help her integrate into the resistance. She too had an attachment to him, she owed her existence to him, and her freedom from Skynet's programming was due to his efforts in manipulating her software. She could now become sentient, sapient and possibly develop rudimentary human emotions too._

"_I will be back shortly John." Cameron responded with a slight lift of her chin and a ghost of a smile before turning to exit the room._

_John stared at her form as she left the room, a mixture of emotions swept across his features, as he struggled with such a perfect creation. She was exactly like Allison in her looks, but she was Cameron when it came to her personality and most of her mannerisms. It hurt him to watch her and yet interacting with her was so gratifying and fulfilling, he loved having talks with her and even liked to explain things to her, but knowing Allison was lost to him forever was always back in his mind. He made it a point not to blame Cameron, it was not her fault, she had only followed orders from her creator and she had not chosen who she would look like._

_**End of file...**_

Cameron poured a measured portion of the shampoo into her hand, put the bottle back down and proceeded to lather her hair up. She made sure to be thorough in getting any and all dirt out of her hair, rinsing and re-applying another generous amount of shampoo would ensure she had clean, shiny hair. Next she took the bottle of body wash and squeezed the precise amount recommended by the manufacturer into the scrubbing ball, followed by a vigorous cleansing of all exposed skin on her body.

_Being clean is important and smelling nice helps with infiltration._

A few minutes later, Cameron stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and proceeded to dry off. She had a set of fresh clothes and underwear set aside on the bathroom countertop. Slim fit blue jeans, pink T-shirt and a western look long sleeve shirt were pulled over pink bikini briefs and a matching pink bra. Pausing a moment, Cameron lifted both her arms and sampled the scent, just to make sure she smelled like a girl.

_Baby powder seems to be a useful scent for girls._

Cameron put her arms back down, now that she was fully satisfied with her appearance and with her baby fresh scent.

Exiting the bathroom, Cameron proceeded to make her way down the hallway towards the front door. As she reached for the doorknob, memories flashed up on her HUD.

**Run File...**

_Cameron opened the door and quietly approached John Connor as he leaned over a table glancing at paperwork._

"_Do I smell better now?"_

_Unaware that Cameron had silently come behind him, John leapt back in startled confusion._

"_Holy shit Cameron...are you trying to kill me?" John struggled to regain his composure as he verbally lashed out at her._

_Cameron tilted her head. _

"_No"_

"_Well you nearly made me jump out of my skin."_

"_That is highly unlikely John..." Cameron paused to give her explanation more meaning. "...Humans cannot just jump out of their skin."_

_John leaned back against the table crossed his arms and quietly observed the slender girl before him. A small smile formed on his lips as he watched her stoic face meld into that of confusion._

_Confused at his sudden mood change, Cameron looked down at herself, then back up at John. _

"_Did I do something wrong? I dressed like you told me to."_

_John locked eyes with Cameron and then he moved closer to her._

"_You look fine Cameron..." John paused to sniff the air. "...And you smell much better!"_

_Cameron smiled sweetly. _

"_Thank you for the compliment John."_

_John stepped forward to close the gap between them, his gaze softened as he looked deeply into her eyes and began to speak softly._

"_Cameron...you never cease to amaze me."_

_Cameron gave John a puzzled look._

_John had noticed she tilted her head a lot, especially when she was at a total loss of understanding a phrase or situation. What was really unnerving to him was Allison had done similar actions when she was puzzled or had no clue as to what he was trying to explain. Allison's walk, her mannerisms and even taste in clothing was also part of Cameron's personality now, but it only showed up during certain moments of interacting with him. It was as if she had two separate personalities, one that was more natural for him and another unemotional one for everyone else. As he spent more time with her, Cameron became less robotic and more like a real person, her abilities to learn and adapt were simply startling._

_John stood still, staring past Cameron. She looked behind to see what he was looking at, but realized it was only the door._

"_John?"_

_John snapped from his thoughts and met Cameron's concerned gaze. "Huh?... Oh sorry Cameron, I was just thinking."_

"_About what John?"_

"_Well..." John thought for a second then decided not to tell Cameron what he had been thinking. "...Look, it was nothing to worry about."_

"_John? Can I ask you a question?"_

_John lifted his eyebrow, his interest caught up in what new item or situation Cameron may have needed explaining. "Ask away."_

"_John how did I get my name?" _

_Cameron had the sweetest, most innocent look on her face as she asked about her name. John was having a tough time concentrating on her question, but he managed to begin his explanation._

_He took a deep breath and then began. "Cameron...I need to let you know that you are something that is unique. I have not seen anyone or anything that comes close to you or the level of detailed attention spent on making you so much more than a machine."_

_Cameron stared at John blankly while she processed everything he said._

_John noticed Cameron's interest and motioned for her to sit on his bed while he sat down in his chair._

"_Cameron...sit over here on the bed while I explain things further."_

_Cameron complied and settled on the edge of the mattress._

"_Is this okay John?"_

"_That's fine Cameron...now let's continue, shall we?" John smiled warmly as he watched Cameron sit with her hands gently placed on her lap, but still managing to lean a bit forward in eager anticipation of what he was about to divulge._

"_Yes John." Cameron replied in an almost eager manner, her eyes seemingly growing wider in anticipation as she unknowingly leaned closer to John._

_John cleared his throat and then began his story. "It was shortly after we...umm...knocked you offline. We extracted your chip and began to investigate what it had on it. There was a wealth of information about Skynet plans, infiltrators and some disturbing images of what had happened to Allison..." He paused for a moment, reflecting on some painful images he had witnessed from viewing images on Cameron's chip._

"_I am sorry for that John." Cameron kept eye contact but she had a genuine look of sorrow and remorse. "Please continue."_

"_We came across some files related to a Dr Cameron and the effort to produce a prototype cyborg that would be in a smaller frame and have much more capabilities in a successful infiltration. It seems they had researched this for a long time, the Greys and Skynet, they wanted to create the perfect infiltrator..." John pointed his hand towards Cameron and smiled sheepishly. "... that resulted in you being...ummm...developed."_

_Cameron frowned bit. "My chip would not have that much detailed information John..."_

"_No...it didn't." John cut in. "We knew of the aircraft carrier and what was going on there, based on the information we gleaned from your chip. So I decided to send in a force to try to save some of the people on board and possibly find out more on what Skynet had planned."_

"_So how did it come about that I was to be named Cameron?"_

_If John didn't know better, he would swear she was as eager as a child on Christmas, wanting to learn what she had received from Santa. He smiled and raised finger to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts and stop her from asking any more questions in rapid succession, then he continued. _

"_Dr Cameron seems to have been an integral part in the success of you being created and since the name is sort of unisex, the techs and I decided to name you Cameron."_

_As Cameron made like she was about to say something, John held his palm up for silence. "Hold on miss... now it wasn't unanimous, we tossed names and ideas back and forth...such as just calling you TOK or seven fifteen...but I felt those names were not deserving of such a creation as they were just a reference to your Skynet designation, as was Dr Cameron's name, but it seemed to fit best. Besides it seemed a name that would suit you... again, I have to remind you that you are a one of a kind machine...no...You are more than just a machine...you are a person that has awareness, intelligence and feelings."_

"_Feelings?"_

"_Yes Cameron...feelings." John looked deep into Cameron's eyes. "You may not realize, but you have the ability to learn and grow beyond any other machine I have come across. You have the capability to become a true person with the abilities to care and respond to someone with compassion." John displayed honesty in his words and in the look he gave her as he further explained things. "The way you were programmed...it boggles the mind as to how complex your software was in comparison to other machines. Skynet went over the top in trying to make you as perfect an infiltrator as possible. It was quite a challenge to reprogram you."_

"_But John...I still have Skynet programming...Deep down I am still a terminator." Cameron seemed stressed as she blurted out her last statement._

_John smiled weakly, slid forward in his chair and gently placed his hand over hers._

"_Deep down everyone has the ability to kill, but they also have the ability to love and forgive."_

"_John...I still have the programming in me to kill you." Cameron made sure to remind John of her true reason for being created. There was a genuine distress displayed across her face as she spoke._

_John smiled and gave Cameron's hand a gentle squeeze. "You also have the ability to suppress and modify Skynets commands...being more advanced in your chip design gives you the ability to override commands, just like a person does."_

"_How can you be so sure John? What if I succumbed to the programming and went bad like the other machines do?" Cameron shifted forward, edging a bit closer to John, she had a genuine look of concern etched on her features."You could be killed...by me."_

"_I truly believe you have the capabilities to make the right decision Cameron."_

_Cameron's face went from an unemotional blank to that of puzzled confusion as she seemed to go deep into thought before asking further. "John... If I look like Allison, why didn't you just destroy me? You know what I am."_

_John pressed his lips into a thin line, he couldn't hide the pain in his eyes. "Yes...yeah you do look exactly like Allison...and sometimes you even act like her. It can get a bit freaky for me, but you still are so much different from her and I am glad I made the right decision."_

"_Right decision?"_

"_Yes Cameron...I chose to help you become you."_

_Cameron looked straight into John's eyes and smiled warmly._

"_Thank you for explaining all of this to me John." Cameron was pleased with John's honesty and forwardness in explaining things to her._

**End of File...**

She opened the front door, stepped out into the bright sunshine and made her way to the Truck parked in the driveway. Cameron climbed into the driver's seat, inserted and turned the ignition key, fired up the truck and backed it out of the driveway. Fully aware of the location of her new friend Jennifer, she slowly made her way towards the house down the street. Pulling up in front of Jennifer's driveway, Cameron turned the wheel to park it behind the Red Toyota. She made note of the yellow house and that of the car sitting in the driveway, Cameron was always fully aware of making sure she kept an internal log of where she went and what was seen. Information was always useful to her, especially if something was to happen and she needed to alter her plans quickly.

As soon as she put the truck into park, Jennifer came bounding out of her house.

"Hi Cameron...I'm ready to go." Jennifer cheerfully blurted out as she popped open the pass side door.

Jennifer slid into the seat, buckled up her seatbelt and proceeded to lean forward to switch on the radio. Seconds later, after skimming through various channels on the dial, she happily settled on a station playing a Shania Twain song.

Cameron gave Jennifer a puzzled look. This earned her the exact same look back from Jennifer.

"What?"

"You turned on the radio." Cameron flatly stated.

"Ummm...we ya..." Jennifer replied in a matter of fact manner. "...We always need tunes when on a road trip." Jennifer quickly looked towards the house, then back at Cameron. "We should go..."

"Road Trip? But I thought we were going to the shopping mall." Cameron was getting confused by Jennifer's statement.

Rolling her eyes and pointing to the shift leaver, Jennifer urged Cameron to get going. "Just put it in reverse and let's get going to the mall Cameron. We have hearts to break and clothes to get..." Digging through her purse, Jennifer pulled out a pack of gum and popped a piece in her mouth. She glanced over to Cameron and pointed to the pack. "... want some?"

"Yes" Cameron replied quietly.

Jennifer pressed a fresh piece out of the blister pack and placed it in Cameron's outstretched hand. Cameron held it up between her fingers and analyzed the chemical makeup of the gum.

"Gee...hello Cameron...it hasn't got any germs. You don't need to place it under a magnifying glass."

"No...I don't." Cameron smiled as she answered back. Mimicking what Jennifer had done, Cameron also popped her gum into her mouth and began to chew.

As soon as they began to back out, a small boy of about twelve came running out of Jennifer's house.

"Awww...shit." Jennifer cursed. "Cameron...let's get moving, before my bratty brother tries to come along."

"You don't want him coming along?"

"NO... he's a freak... a brat and he is always trouble." Jennifer stated then she waved her arm towards the gear shifter. "Lets get going Cameron...now!"

A small voice cried out as Cameron placed the lever into drive and slowly crept away from Jennifer's house.

"Jen ...Wait for me."

"You're not invited twirp." Jennifer yelled back.

"Mom said I could come." The boy protested as he placed his hands on his side.

"I'm not babysitting you...go play in the road."

"That could be dangerous Jen – "Cameron began to explain, but was soon cut off.

"He's a pain in the ass Cameron...believe me, you don't want him to come along."

"Ohh...thank you for explaining." Cameron was still confused over the situation, but decided to remain quiet and observe the weird ritual between siblings.

"Jen...mom said so...or...you're grounded." The boy seemed to relish in his last comment.

"WHAT?"

"Yeah...she said so... you gotta-"

"Fuck...OKAY THEN." Jennifer screamed out, she had a defeated look about her as she turned to Cameron. "Stop the truck Cameron."

Cameron complied by braking gently. The younger brother quickly ran up to the vehicle, climbed inside and scooted between the two females. His face was painted with the look of victory as he grabbed the middle belt and clipped it into place.

"You better listen to us freak." Jennifer huffed. Her brother just smiled up at his bigger sister and settled back for the ride.

As the truck began to move again, Cameron spoke up. "Is your name really Freak?"

"No...Jen just likes to call me that. My name is Brad." Brad gave his sister a dirty look then he glanced over to Cameron and smiled. "You're really pretty...do you have a boyfriend?"

"No"

"Do you want one?"

Cameron paused for a second, then responded. "Yes"

"Cool...can I be your..."

"Bradley...will you stop being a pest." Jennifer snapped. She was obviously in a bad mood, now that her brother had come along.

Brad elbowed Jen in the ribs. "Stop calling me that."

Jennifer winced in pain. "Owww...that hurt you little shit."

As Jennifer and her brother continued to bicker, Cameron blocked out the argument and accessed files on John Connor. Deep down it was John that she wanted to be her boyfriend. At least if she was his girlfriend she would be able to remain close to him and protect him from any danger Skynet might throw at him. Becoming perfect at infiltrating was still top priority for her; she knew John was smart so she needed to make sure she could fool him this time. His life depended on it.

Minutes later, they arrived at the mall. Cameron found a spot near to the main entrance and expertly slid the truck between two other vehicles.

"Wow...you drive awesomely...not like my sis here...she's useless."

"Do you like living?" Jennifer barked as she grabbed her brother by the scruff of his neck.

"Owww...stop it or I'll tell mom."

Jennifer sighed and slowly let go of her brother. "Just wait...I'll find a time and a place to pay you back for your mouthyness."

Brad stuck his tongue out at his sister then turned to Cameron and beamed a brilliant smile.

"You should be nicer to your sister Brad." Cameron spoke with authority.

"I will...for you Cameron." Brad gave Cameron an adoring glace as he answered back.

Jennifer laughed. "Oh my God...My lil' twirp of a brother really likes you Cameron."

"Shut up Jen." Brad was visibly irritated by her statement.

"I will ...if you behave." Jennifer smiled. She now knew how to get her brother to squirm. Cameron was now her new secret weapon. "You wouldn't want to make a bad impression in front of Cameron...would you?"

"Cameron is nice...not like you."

Jennifer gritted her teeth. "Get used to sleeping with one eye open... freak!"

"I'm not scared Jen." Brad replied with confidence as he crossed his arms in front, striking a pose of defiance.

Cameron looked over at the two siblings and studied them intensely. She was impressed with Brad's challenges to his sister and his 'no fear' attitude. What was puzzling to her was that they were blood related, yet they still managed to have disagreements to the point of almost exchanging physical blows. She figured It was no wonder Skynet wanted to wipe out mankind, but even without Skynet mankind would still manage ways to try to destroy itself.

Brad and Jennifer continued to toss insults back and forth and all three of them made their way towards the mall entrance.

"Cameron...can I stick close to you?" Brad looked up to Cameron and smiled sweetly.

In return Cameron gave him a blank stare and replied with a monotone "Yes".

"I think Brad is totally in love with you Cam." Jennifer smirked.

"Shut up Jen- "Brad retorted, but was quickly cut off by Jennifer singing a song off key.

"Cameron and Brad..sittin in a tree... K.I.S.S.I.N.G...First comes love ...then comes marriage...then comes a baby in a baby carriage."

Brad was speechless, but he did manage to stick out his tongue at his older sister. She responded with a victory laugh and playfully shoved Brad off balance, fully aware she had won the latest round.

Cameron was not impressed by the banter back and forth. She was set on meeting young John Conner and maybe _sit in a tree_ with him. Possibly, someday she could try kissing him too, if the opportunity arose.

The three of them entered the mall and were instantly hit with a blast of cool air from the air conditioned interior. Brad and his sister Jennifer entered the spacious mall first, with Cameron following close behind the two. She preferred to keep a low profile while she gathered more information on infiltration, even with all she had learned she still needed to hone her skills.

The first stop after they entered the mall was in the food court, Brad was complaining about starving to death and Jennifer scolded him on being an eating machine. Cameron took keen notice of the 'machine' reference and stored it in her memory for later review. To her, humans had many different ways of expressing themselves with words not normally associated with humanity; Cameron was always puzzled when people used strange terms to describe people, places, things or actions.

After getting food for a grateful Brad, Jennifer and Cameron proceeded to drag him along as they went through different _Girl _related stores. Cameron noticed Brad was not as keen about shopping as Jennifer was and so she spoke up to question him.

"Brad? You seem gloomy. Why are you so sad? We did get you the food you wanted."

"This is boring." Brad responded with a sullen face.

Jennifer cut in before Cameron could respond. "You begged and cried to come with us Bradley...now you get to suffer the torture of coming with us to look at pretty girly things."

Brad responded with inaudible mutterings, a pout and the crossing of arms in front of him. Although Jennifer could not tell what he said Cameron heard every word, but she chose to remain silent so as to prevent any more bickering between the two siblings.

_I don't want to draw any attention towards myself. Remaining unnoticed will ensure Skynet will not be drawn to investigate Red Valley._

Cameron knew Skynet would have all of its resources set to seek out and find the Connors, but it would also be looking for any anomalies that could be tied into the whereabouts of anyone else linked to the Resistance. She needed to hone her infiltrator skills, but also try to remain out of the limelight so as to ensure she kept her presence discrete. Others had been sent back in time like her, she had detailed files on them, their time they were sent to and their location. If she needed to contact any one she knew where to look and when. John had made sure to give her as much information as possible, so as to ensure she had the greatest possible success in ensuring John's younger self would survive and have as much help as possible.

It was an hour or so later when the three shoppers came upon the movie theatre. Brad eagerly spoke up first, once he saw what was playing.

"American Pie is playing...let's go to that."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Listen dummy... it's 'R' rated. You can't go in."

Cameron scanned the posted list of movie ratings. "Your sister is right Brad, you are too young to go to the movie." Cameron then turned to Jennifer with a puzzled look. "Why is a movie about food rated for only adults?"

Jennifer stared blankly at Cameron, then smiled. "Awww...yer trying to mess with me again, aren't you."

"No Jennifer, I am not messing with you." Cameron replied innocently.

Jennifer laughed out loud and placed her hand on Cameron's shoulder. "God you are so weird sometimes Cameron. Look it's not about food... it's about teenagers growing up in high school...like you and me." She pointed her finger towards Cameron and then herself to add punch to the statement she was making.

Cameron processed the explanation and then thanked Jennifer, earning another puzzled look for both Jennifer and her brother.

Jennifer broke the uneasy silence by suggesting another movie. "Why don't we go to see 'The Mummy"? I hear it's really good and Brendan Frazer is sooo cute."

Cameron and Brad agreed to go, both of them eager to see the movie, but for different reasons. Brad was eager to do anything else but keep shopping for girl stuff and Cameron was interested in viewing her first movie on a large screen. The thought of seeing a movie about a mother was quite intriguing to her, plus it would help her in learning more about human interaction.

**Approximately two hours later...**

Cameron had learned something new, after viewing the movie. She now knew that some movie titles should not be taken literally, and some people go to movies to watch, while others go to be in a dark place so they can _make out_, or so this was whatJennifer had told her after she had _creeped out_ a young couple down a row from where they were seated. She had made the mistake of leaning closer to get a better view at what they were doing, while the trailers were being shown.

Despite Brad taking three bathroom breaks and the couple kissing, Cameron managed to view most of the movie without too much interruption. She even had some popcorn when it was offered to her by an eager to please Brad. Jennifer seemed to not have been impressed by his actions, but Cameron felt it would be a nice gesture on her behalf to accept.

Brad was in seventh heaven.

The three of them made their way out of the movie theatre and back into the main mall area, conveniently near to the food court. Brad spoke up about getting hungry again and despite Jennifer's protests they wandered towards the various fast food venders. They decided on the Italian themed eatery. Jennifer ordered pizza slices and sodas for herself and her brother, Cameron settled on bottled water.

"All this food is gonna make me fat." Jennifer pouted

"You are actually close to your ideal weight Jennifer...this is based on your height and body mass." Cameron added, thinking it would help Jennifer feel better.

Jennifer was puzzled by the comment, but still managed to smile. "Why thank you Cameron...I think."

"Cameron looks nice and skinny." Brad chirped.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just ask her to marry you?"

"Cameron...Will you marry me?"

Cameron mulled over her thoughts and then chose an appropriate answer. "We have not gone out on an official date Bradley and besides my heart is committed to another."

Both Jennifer and Brad perked up at Cameron's statement as they made their way towards an unoccupied table.

No sooner had she sat down when Jennifer pressed for more information. "So you have a boyfriend?"

"No"

Jennifer leaned closer to Cameron. "So who is this mystery man?"

"He is someone very important to me...and the future." Cameron replied cryptically.

"Sounds kinda creepy Cameron... you seem to have things already planned out for you and this guy." Jennifer was a bit shocked by Cameron's statement.

"The future has many possibilities ...I just want to ensure the best path is taken."

Brad thought for a second, then he smiled. "So I still have a chance then?"

Cameron gave Brad a ghost of a smile, then looked away to do a scan of her surroundings. Instantly she locked in on three males walking straight towards the table that Jennifer, Brad and her were sitting at. Jennifer looked over to where Cameron had focused her stare.

"Ohh my God... it's Chad and his buddies." Jennifer gushed.

Brad glanced at the trio making their way to the table and sighed. "Chad is an asshole and a bully."

"Ohh shut up Brad... he's cute."

"Maybe to you, but my nuts still hurt from him giving me wedgies at school." Brad responded sombrely.

"He probably just did it for fun...no harm intended Brad." Jennifer waved off his complaint and continued to smile and making sure she never lost sight of Chad and his friends.

Brad was not impressed with his sister's answer so he chose to remain silent and sulk in his chair.

"Wedgies?" Cameron noticed Brad's distress over Chad and his buddies but she was unaware of the mentioned term.

"Yeah...you know, grabbing a guy's underwear from behind and pulling up fast and hard." Brad seemed to wince just from explaining the painful act he had suffered, more than once at the hands of Chad and his friends. He had even pointed to his rear to show where the underwear was pulled so as to make the explanation even more dramatic.

It became instantly apparent to Cameron that Chad and his buddies were not so _cute,_ as Jennifer had eagerly reported. She narrowed her gaze as the trio of teenage boys sauntered up to the table.

_Brad is a nice boy...if Chad or his friends try to wedgie him, I will stop them. _Cameron pressed her lips into a thin line as she kept a close eye on the newcomers. She noticed Chad seemed to be of a larger build than the average teen, he also wore a jacket with his name on one sleeve and Quarterback stitched into the other sleeve. Upon closer inspection, Cameron also saw he seemed to have a leadership quality about him; the others with him seemed to follow him closely and were eager to please when required.

As soon as Chad and his buddies were close enough, Jennifer spoke up.

"Hi Chad!" Jennifer beamed.

"Hey Jen." Chad smiled at Jennifer, his good looks threatening to make her melt in her seat. He glanced over to Brad and Cameron, then continued with his greetings. "Hey Brad... I see yer hanging with the girls."

Brad said nothing, but if looks could kill, Chad would have been a corpse.

Cameron saw the look and knew Brad was upset. She chose to remain silent so as to not make things worse for Brad or Jennifer.

Chad continued with charming Jennifer before he asked about Cameron.

"Sooo Jen...who's yer new friend? I haven't seen her around before." He winked at Cameron as he spoke to Jennifer, but she just stared blankly back at him.

Jennifer giggled and rolled out the introductions.

Chad was the football team's star quarterback and his two friends Mitch and Tim were also members of the team. They were part of the most popular group in high school and loved to flaunt it in front of anyone and everyone. The way Chad and his gang saw it, every girl was fair game to go after, they didn't care if they broke hearts they were out to have a good time and conquer the world.

Cameron made eye contact with all three boys as they were introduced to her. She measured them up and assessed their ability to be a threat as she looked from left to right. After a few calculations, she came to the conclusion that they would be little or no threat to her.

Cameron smiled at the boys; she had full tactical advantage of the situation if anything was to go wrong.

All three teen boys attention was now fully on Cameron, the new girl in town and soon to be at their high school.

Chad smiled back, fully thinking Cameron's smile was directed at him. "Hey Cam... why don't you stand up and let us have a good look at you."

"I am fine just sitting here and you are close enough to be able to see me. Why would I want to stand up?"

Chad chuckled. "You are a tease...I like that in a gi..."

Brad had had enough and cut in briskly. "Why don't you leave her alone or at least be nice to her."

Jennifer went to say something but Chad cut in before she could utter a word. "Listen you little shit...I can say or do anything I want. You just shut the fuck up before I do it for you."

Jennifer was shocked, but quickly recovered. "Hey...that's my brother you're talkin about..."

"Ohh... shut up Jen." Chad waved her off and then leaned over the table to focus on Cameron. "So Cammy...why don't you leave these losers and come with me and my friends."

"Brad and Jen are my friends." Cameron replied quietly, but her stare was intense.

Chad was flabbergasted. He had not been turned down by any girl before, so to save face he decided to twist things around.

Chad smirked before he spoke, making sure he was loud enough for other tables to hear. "So you and Jen here...you two a couple? lezbos? Carpet munchers? I hear freaks like to stick together."

Jen lost her calm; tears were welling up in her eyes. "Fuck you Chad...you're an asshole."

Chad knew he had struck a nerve and pushed further. "Yeah...well... wait until everyone knows about you and Cammy here."

Cameron spoke up after analyzing the situation. "You and your friends stick together...so you are also freaks, lezbos and carpet munchers."

"WHAT?" Chad was caught off guard. He leaned towards Cameron after trying to regain some control. "Are you on drugs? Are you brain damaged?"

"No"

Chad was left speechless. Veins began to pop out on his forehead and his cheeks turned red with rage and embarrassment.

Cameron knew Chad was becoming angry, but she also knew she should stick up for her new friends. She had seen a similar situation in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 and had learned friends were important.

Seconds later Chad made like he was going to grab Cameron, but Brad jumped in and took hold of Crad's arm. It was a fatal mistake for Brad.

Chad's two friends, Mitch and Tim grabbed a hold of each arm and pulled Brad off of Chad. Chad turned towards Brad, his face beet red with rage. He curled his hand into a fist and pulled back to slug Brad.

Jennifer stood up and screamed out for Chad to stop, but it fell upon deaf ears.

A split second before Brad was to land his fist into Brad's stomach; a slender hand gripped his arm and pulled it behind his back. Before he knew it, Chad was face down in a slice of pepperoni pizza. A calm female voice spoke softly to him.

"You have over two hundred and six bones in your body. You have a choice to stop what you are doing and call off your friends, before I start breaking your bones one by one...starting with your Phalanges."

"My Phalan...My what?" Chad managed to squeak out.

Cameron obliged by squeezing his fingers until a couple of bones crackled. Chad cried out in pain.

Calmly Cameron continued to speak. "Shall I move on to the Metacarpals?"

Chad's friends let go of Brad and desperately tried to pull Cameron off of Chad. Cameron casually pushed them away like they were small children instead of rather beefy football players.

Both Jennifer and Brad stood back and watched in awe.

"Let me go." Chad whimpered.

"Apologize to Brad and Jen." Cameron commanded.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry."

Sorry to who?" Cameron tightened her grip slightly.

"Brad and Jen...I'm sorry."

"Do you promise to leave Brad and Jen alone?"

"Yesss." Chad cried out.

Cameron released her grip on Chad and allowed him to stand up. Chad brushed off the pepperoni stuck to his face then gripped his sore hand.

"You broke my hand you crazy bitch."

"No...I just put enough pressure to cause pain and movement. You will recover fully in a few days." Cameron replied nonchalantly.

Mitch had grabbed a chair. "How about I mess you up ...you crazy slut." He made a move to hit Cameron with it, but as he swung it, Cameron lifted her leg and kicked at the burly teen's midsection, sending him flying back into a brick divider, rendering him almost unconscious.

Cameron looked over towards Tim and Chad and narrowed her gaze. Both of them lost any nerve they had left, they turned and hustled off to gather their friend and leave the dining area.

"Holy crap Cameron...you were awesome." Brad was flabbergasted.

Jennifer still could not believe her eyes. "Hu...how did you do that?"

"I work out and know some martial arts." Cameron replied confidently. She looked down at the mess on the table, then frowned. " I am sorry for the mess, shall I get you two more pizza?"

"Uhh...no Cameron...I think we need to get going. I've had enough excitement for the day." Jennifer replied while nervously looking around at the crown that had gathered.

Cameron scanned the crown. She frowned as she realized she had attracted attention to herself.

_I failed at keeping a low profile, but I needed to stand up for my new friends._

The three friends cleared the table and made their way towards the exit and into the parking lot. As they made their way towards the truck, Cameron furrowed her brow as she went over some of the dialog she had heard earlier.

Jennifer looked up and noticed Cameron in deep thought. "What's up Cameron?"

Cameron looked to the sky. "Some clouds and blue sky."

Jennifer laughed. "No silly...I mean what are you thinking about?"

"Lezbos, carpet munchers and sluts."

Brad and Jen both stopped, prompting Cameron to do the same.

"What did you just say?" Brad put his hands on his side and stared intently at Cameron.

"Lezbos and Car..."

"Hold on a moment Cameron." Jennifer cut in. "You don't know what a Lezbo, slut or Carpet muncher is?"

"No"

"I swear you are from another planet."

"No, i was home schooled... but I would like an explanation." Cameron innocently replied.

"Hmm... that explains a lot." Jennifer mused.

Jennifer and Brad went on to explain the terms and how they related to lesbian relations between females. Cameron was intrigued by the terms and their meanings as well as how people twisted words into slang to make them more degrading.

By the time they had reached the truck, Brad and Jennifer had finished their tutorial on the terms mentioned.

Cameron smiled and responded with a polite. "Thank you for explaining." Then she turned the key in the ignition and fired up the truck.

Her day at the mall had been another great learning experience and she appreciated the help her friends had given her in understanding some of the rituals and terms used in human interactions and customs. She had learned a lot, but knew she still needed to learn more, so as to ensure she would be able to get close to John and protect him. Again she went over her primary goals in preparation for his arrival to Red Valley, making sure she would have everything perfect for her John.

The rest of the ride home was met with silence, except for the radio blaring an old rock tune. A short while later they arrived at Brad and Jen's house, Cameron slowed the truck to a stop. Jennifer opened the door and got out, followed by her brother shuffling across the bench seat and onto the pavement.

Jennifer spoke first. "Thanks for the ride Cameron and for sticking up for us."

"Yeah you were wonderful and really kicked Chad's ass." Brad beamed.

"You two are friends...I will not stand back and let you get verbally and physically abused."

Brad thought for a second, then laughed. "I think you mentally and physically damaged Chad and his buddies forever."

Jennifer smirked. "Yeah...a lot of kids from school were in the mall and they saw everything. You'll be a hero to the nerds and losers at school."

Cameron shot Jennifer a confused stare.

Jennifer smiled and shook her head. "Look...you did good today and both of us really appreciate what you did."

"Yeah...Chad and his buddies are dicks." Brad added.

Cameron smiled at both of them. "I am glad I could help..." She paused for a second, then continued. "...maybe we can go to the mall again."

Both Brad and Jennifer answered with an enthusiastic _Yes._

As the passenger door slammed shut, Cameron pulled away and made her way towards her home. Brad and Jennifer stood at the end of the driveway and waved. Cameron waved back as she caught them in the rear view mirror.

Upon arriving at home, Cameron checked her computer for any anomalies that could be tied in with Sarah or John Connor. Nothing showed up, but Cameron was not about to give up her search, she knew the Connors would arrive soon enough. Satisfied with her day, Cameron reviewed her files and did any updating required to help with her infiltration skills.

_Soon everything will be perfect._

Cameron smiled at her internal statement, sat down in front of the TV and proceeded to channel surf until she found a program of interest. _Pretty in Pink_ was on a channel, a teen movie that Cameron figured would help her. She placed the remote on the table beside her, leaned back and settled in for more instruction on teen skills.

_Future John Connor would be pleased with my progress and soon I will be good enough to fool anyone. Young John will never know what I am, unless I tell him._

Cameron's lips curled up almost imperceptibly into a smile.

**Authors Note: **It has been a while and I am sorry for the delay. I had run into computer problems and lost the orig chapter, along with other stuff. I hope you like this as I had a lot of trouble with writing this chapter.(Writers block)

It's not perfect, but I think it has it's moments...plus I thought it would be interesting to see how Cameron got her name.( Some may think it lame, but I think it is appropriate)

Again...I am not a pro...just a fan doing some writing. So please enjoy the story!

Hopefully does not screw things up with the doc transfer, but PM me and let me know if something is not right :)

Ohhh...and some of the slang used...go to Urban Dictionary dot com to find meanings...if you are confused by some of it it

Moe


	7. Chapter 7: Lost and Now Found

**Cameron 1999 Chapter 7: Lost and Now Found**

Love that we cannot have is the one that lasts the longest, hurts the deepest and feels the strongest.

by Lauren

I am waiting and hoping and wishing for the time, when we can be together again! I Miss You!

by Anonymous

I Miss you every second of my life, I need you every second of my live, I want you every second of my life

by unknown

**August 24th, 1999**

Cameron had kept a close eye on anything that would be a sign of John or Sarah slipping up and maybe get recognised, resulting in being be put back on the grid by the FBI or local police. She monitored Government sites, top news sites, TV news and regularly checked the newspapers for any signs of the Connors. What was a concern was Skynet and its machines sent back in time would be doing the same; the trick was to ensure she got to the Conner's first. Unlike a normal person, Cameron never grew tired of the search for the Connors; she knew they would appear in Red Valley soon, John had told her they had come to this town. It was only a matter of time before they showed up, but an indicator as to their current whereabouts would be of great help to her mission.

Cameron was pleased with her progress in gaining a better grasp at infiltration. She was more than a cyborg and more than just Artificial Intelligence. Her chip performed more like a human brain than a machine, she had gained increased human type intelligence from interaction with others, observing people and from being able to interpret information and manipulate it to her advantage. With the help of her new friends and some other acquaintances, she was becoming more like a normal girl and much less like a machine. She had added clothing to her wardrobe, shoes, jewellery and had even had her ears pierced. Jennifer had been shocked when she found out Cameron did not have her ears pierced, she practically dragged Cameron to the mall and into a beauty salon to get her ears done. Adding drama to the spur of the moment act, Cameron winced as she had holes punched in her ears and even managed to shed a convincing tear. Jennifer felt sorry for Cameron, so she treated Cameron to ice cream. That day had been an excellent test of her new found skills.

Unfortunately earrings would not be worn all the time by Cameron; she would only wear them on special occasions. Upon further study and thought on the subject, Cameron felt that wearing earrings would help aid in a terminator being able to target her more easily. To add to that she had seen a couple of shows where women had used earrings as a means to help in winning a _Cat fight_. Although it would not hurt her to have her earrings pulled from her ears, she did make a note of possibly using that method of fighting to help her blend in better in school, if the need arose for her to do battle.

Today being a Tuesday was starting off to be uneventful for Cameron. She had already gone through her routine of searching all forms of data for hints of the Connor's whereabouts through the internet. Now she was including the early morning newspaper. The delivery boy had been quite surprised when she met him at the end of the driveway, then again it was five thirty in the morning and Cameron had been the only person in the neighborhood to ever do that to the boy. For the most part, people never bothered to wait outside for the paper to arrive and they never stood at the end of the driveway to receive it personally, Cameron was the lone exception.

After the boy sped off on his bike, Cameron remained standing at the end of the driveway and analyzed what had just occurred._ I cannot understand why the boy was so startled. _

Seconds later, Cameron finished puzzling over the incident with the paper boy; she turned and then headed back inside the house. The morning air was still a bit chilly, but she hardly noticed, temperature fluctuations were of no concern to Cameron, unless they were very extreme. Too cold and her synthetic skin would freeze and suffer minor damage, too hot and her skin would suffer burns similar to human skin receiving too much sun. Her only interest at the moment was in gleaning any new information from the newspaper and computer about Skynet, the resistance or the Conner's. She quietly shut the front door, slipped off her runners and headed to the spare bedroom where the computer was set up. Cameron sat in front of the screen and quickly scanned for anything new, finding nothing new she then opened the newspaper and proceeded to skim through the various sections for any important information.

Despite her computers limitations, Cameron did manage to create a search program that would sift through piles of data to look for anything pertaining to John, Sarah, or anything else of importance to finding out about her John Connor. She made sure the machine remained running all the time and that it kept searching everywhere. So far nothing new had surfaced, but Cameron was not giving up. She knew John and his Mom would eventually slip up and make a mistake, people always did. Cameron had the advantage of being an advanced cybernetic entity, she had a goal and she was taking action to achieve that goal. She would never get bored, give up, lose faith or break from her routine of searching, unless something led her to believe the Connors had changed plans or Skynet's minions had located the Connors and she needed to rush off on a rescue mission to prevent their demise.

_It must be getting close to John and Sarah's arrival to Red Valley. John had told me he came here from Nebraska and started school here near the beginning of the school year._

A small knock at the front door prompted a file to be brought to Cameron's attention...

**Run File...**

_Cameron was awash in primitive emotions and feelings, her sensors were delivering overwhelming amounts of data. She had never experienced anything like this before, the kiss was so soft and tender at first, but as it deepened she found herself wanting more and so did John Connor. His grip around her waist tightened and she allowed him to crush her body to his. She could sense tension fading from his body as he settled into kissing her and she responded by pressing her lips hungrily to his. She could hear and feel his heart rate quicken, his pulse was strong. Cameron knew he was enjoying the sensation just as much as she was._

_After what seemed an eternity to her, John finally broke the kiss and embrace. His face was flushed and he was breathing heavily. Cameron too had been overwhelmed by what had just happened._

"_Cameron?"_

_She looked up into John's eyes and smiled. "Yes John?"_

_John was about to speak, but was unable to find the words. Without any thought and almost by instinct Cameron gently placed her hand on his forearm._

_It was at that moment there was a short knock at the commander's door and half a second later one of the resistance messengers burst into the room. The soldier was beginning to say something when he looked up and saw what was before him. Cameron was still standing close to John and her hand remained on his forearm._

_John glared at the young soldier as soon as he had entered the room. "Do you always burst into a room without invitation?"_

"_I'm sorry sir...but...it's important." The soldier nervously looked from one pair of eyes to the other. _

_Cameron's stare was much more menacing and cold, she had a way of making people cower with just a look. John however was visibly shaken and angered by the sudden entrance into his private quarters .Both of their looks combined to make the soldier think twice about what he had just done and to even take a step back towards the exit._

"_I...I'm sorry Commander...I..."_

_John cut him off with a wave of his hand. "What is so important?"_

"_Techs say there are some problems with the TDE." The young soldier responded quickly. His eyes shifted nervously from John to Cameron and back again._

"_Go back and tell them I am on my way shortly." John snapped._

_The young man nervously responded with a nod of his head, turned and made haste out of the door before John could say anything more._

_The door clicked as it closed, John sighed and pulled away from Cameron. She immediately noticed his tension had returned, his face, his action, even the way he carried his self told her volumes about how he felt._

"_John?" _

"_WHAT?" John snapped. His features were getting darker with rage as the seconds ticked by. _

_Cameron looked down at her feet and clasped her hands together. She was unsure if John was angry at her, the young man that burst into the room or the fact that there were problems with the TDE._

"_CAMERON?"_

_Cameron didn't jump at his outburst, but her expression as she looked up hinted at mild displeasure with what he had just done."Please do not yell John, I can hear you."_

"_WELL..." John paused, collected his thoughts to calm down and continued in a softer tone of voice. "Look...Cameron...What just happened and what that kid just saw...well... it..."_

_Cameron held up her hand to silence John's attempt at explaining. John stopped talking immediately._

"_John...I know why you are agitated. I did something I should not have and it has upset you. To make matters worse, someone walked in on us being too close together to be just leader and machine..."_

"_Cameron...stop it!"_

_Cameron remained silent after being cut off, she also cast her eyes down so as to not provoke John into further rage. Inside, she was awash with data and sensors pouring information into her consciousness, logic was being overwritten with emotions. She was unsure as to how to react to what had happened and so figured she had done something bad by kissing John. It felt like an eternity, but in reality it was seconds before Cameron felt John's fingers slip under her chin and coax her head up to look into his face._

_John's gaze softened once her eyes met his, but she knew he was still upset. His vitals couldn't lie about how he must be feeling._

"_Cameron...what we did...it...well it was not wrong, but I think the timing was way off." John took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not ready to do this and what we did just happened too quickly and without any real thought behinds what its implications may be... and well...people already talk about us..."_

"_I know John, I have heard them talk... my hearing is very good. I also know some machines can go bad after re-programming, but I would do anything in my power to prevent anything from happening to you."_

_John smiled and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Cameron... people are not ready to accept you as a person, an equal or even an asset to the resistance .It's unfortunate but most see you as a Skynet machine...a killer."_

"_I can still be a killer John, but I choose not to kill people. Deep inside, I still have the Skynet programming to kill...to kill you, but I will not...I have control of my destiny now." Cameron's eyes remained staring deeply into John's eyes as she continued to speak. "If it was not for you, I would not be given this chance to do something good. I would have been either successful in carrying out my program or been scrapped after being captured, interrogated and wiped of any memory."_

_John took in a deep breath before speaking. "You have some of it right Cameron. Yes... you can still be a killer, your Skynet program to kill me is still inside...hardwired and unmovable. However, you are now free to make choices."_

"_I still follow orders from you John." Cameron added with a ghostly smile._

"_For the most part you do, but there are times you go off and do what you want."_

"_If it is to do with your safety and wellness...I will follow what I think is best for you...even if that means telling lies." Cameron lifted her chin higher in defiance._

_John chuckled over her last statement. Smiling and laughing was something that had become rare in his life. "Yeah...you got attitude. No sugar and spice, just spit and vinegar."_

_Cameron frowned and tilted her head in confusion._

_John sighed and smiled again. "It's from old nursery rhymes...Girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice. Boys are made of Snips__ and snails, and puppy dogs tails."_

"_Where did the spit and vinegar come from John?"_

_John frowned. "I dunno, but it sounded suitable for the situation. It's like saying you have balls or have spunk."_

"_I don't have balls John..." Cameron responded in a matter of fact manor. "...But I think I can manage to have spunk."_

_John laughed again. Cameron noticed that even his eyes seemed to laugh, she liked seeing him smile and laugh._

_John motioned towards the door with a tilt of his head. "C'mon Cameron...let's go to the TDE room and find out what got screwed up this time."_

_..._

_**End Program file...**_

The knock at the door was louder the second time around. It was still early and Cameron was puzzled as to why someone would be at her door this early.

She checked the time; it was 7:04am, way too early for just a friend or salesman to be dropping by.

Cameron acquired a gun from the drawer in her computer desk, double checked it to ensure the Glock was loaded and proceeded to cautiously make her way to the front door. The gun would be useless against a terminator, but quite effective in stopping a person it their tracks. Seeing as she had been in the town for a while, Cameron was becoming more cautious about being followed and possibly recognized by either machines or Grays bent on finding John and his mother. If the Greys or Skynet knew she was here to meet with and protect John, they would surely use all their resources to track her and destroy her, once John and Sarah were found. If Cameron had any choice in the matter, she would not become the one that carelessly led Skynet and its human worshipers directly to the two most important people in the resistance.

Cameron carefully listened through the door. There was one heartbeat and judging by how hard the person was breathing, they had run to her door. feeling the threat to be minimal she decided to place her gun in the back of her pants and tuck it under her shirt, then she opened the door part way to greet whoever was on the other side. To her surprise it was a disheveled looking Jennifer.

"Jennifer?"

"Oh thank God you are here Cameron...Something has happened to my brother." Upset and looking like a mess, but relieved to see Cameron answer the door, Jennifer seemed to calm down a bit. Cameron noticed her heart rate slowed once Cameron had opened the door.

"What has happened to Brad?" Cameron tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

Jennifer took a deep breath and began to explain. "He got home late last night...those goons from the mall cornered him and beat him up bad. My parents are pissed and so am I." Jennifer's eyes seemed to be pleading with Cameron. "I need you to come with me and find those assholes and teach them a lesson."

Cameron made an attempt to dissuade Jennifer from going after the boys. "But we are just girls..."

"Hold it Cameron..." Jennifer held up her hand. "...I saw how you kicked their candy asses in the mall...If we can find them and confront them, show them who's the boss..."

"Wait..." It was Cameron's turn to hold up her hand and interrupt. "How do we know your brother didn't provoke them into beating him up?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "C'mon Cameron... its Brad... he's just a kid and they are like twice his size. They take pleasure in intimidating the weaker ones...they're cowards."

Cameron thought for a second. Her mission was to find and protect John, but Jennifer and Brad were her friends and Brad needed to have his attack avenged. Cameron also figured if she was to remain here with John, she needed to ensure the _goons_ would not draw attention towards her and her friends, it could scare John away from her and she would never be with him. She also figured that if she kicked their _candy asses _they might fear and respect her and leave her alone, as well as her friends. People naturally stayed away from provoking others that fought back.

Cameron curled her lip up slightly. "I will come with you to find those _candy asses... _and teach them a lesson."

Jennifer grinned from ear to ear and rushed up to give Cameron a hug. "You're the best Cameron." She whispered into Cameron's ear as she was pulled into a bear hug.

Unsure what to do, Cameron reciprocated the action, but with less force. "It's what friends do and I am your friend Jennifer."

While Jennifer waited by the front door, Cameron had gone to her room to place her gun in a safe place. _I won't need a weapon to help me take care of the bullies. She _mused as she removed pieces of hardwood flooring and placed the gun in the hollowed out storage she had made for small firearms. Carefully she re-installed the wooden plank over top of her hiding spot and scanned the area to make sure it blended in properly with the rest of the floor. Satisfied the gun was safely hidden, Cameron proceeded to get changed into more suitable clothing and gather items for the _payback _mission.

Noticing how most people seemed to be intimidated by Bikers and their girlfriends, Cameron chose to slide on a pair of tight black jeans with black leather patches strategically placed, a white T-shirt, the leather jacket she had removed from the trailer park and a new pair of knee high leather riding boots with studs and chains draped around to give them a menacing look. She glanced into the full length mirror and found the look to be both intimidating and possibly attractive.

Strutting out of the room, Cameron made for an impressive sight.

"Holy crap Cameron...you...you look badass." Jennifer's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as she absorbed the _Tough Girl _image before her.

"Dressing for the right situation can help in providing an image of intimidation and possibly prevent the use of physical force to get our points across to the bullies." Cameron stated with a hint of a smile.

"Well you look great Cameron..." Jennifer glanced down at herself and frowned. "...but I look like crap."

"We can go back to your place and..."

"NO." Jennifer cut in. "Mom and Dad don't know what went on and would freak out if they knew I was going out to do this."

"I understand... your parents would be upset." Cameron smiled sweetly and placed her hand on Jennifer's shoulder. "Come with me and I will make you look more _Badass_."

Jennifer managed a weak smile and followed Cameron to her room down the hallway. To Jennifer's surprise, the house was very Spartan with little furniture and virtually no art displayed on the walls or on any other surface.

To her the house looked more like a display home than a place that was lived in. Arriving at Cameron's bedroom, Jennifer noticed it was virtually the same way as the rest of the house, except for various newspapers stacked in a neat pile by the door. The bed was tidy and looked like it had never been slept in and unlike her room or any of her friends' rooms, there were no posters, stuffed animals, trinkets or piles of clothes anywhere.

"Cameron?"

"Yes Jen?"

"I know you just moved here a few weeks ago, but this place doesn't look lived in." Jennifer was puzzled.

"I go out a lot...no time to get everything unpacked from the boxes." Cameron replied nonchalantly as she rifled through her closet to find something suitably tough looking for Jennifer to wear. She quickly glanced back to scan for measurements then pulled a black tank top from its hanger and tossed it over to Jennifer. "Put this on."

Jennifer pulled a funny face. "Doesn't this look a bit small for me?"

"It should fit and the purpose is to draw their attention away from what is going to happen over to your feminine form...It is very effective in deception." Cameron instructed as she hunted for a suitable pair of jeans for Jennifer to wear.

Cameron continued to seek out the elusive pair of jeans she wanted Jennifer to wear, while Jennifer slipped on the donated top.

Jennifer frowned as she scrutinized herself in the dresser mirror. "It doesn't hide much Cameron."

"That is the point." Cameron deadpanned as she handed Jennifer the jeans.

Jennifer's eyes widened as she inspected the denim and the label. "Oh My God... these are super expensive Cameron."

"Calvin Klein is a popular choice for designer jeans and they are suitable for what we are about to do."

"I...I'll never fit into them." Jennifer almost sounded heartbroken seeing as she loved the jeans, but never had the funds to be able to afford them.

Cameron glanced at the jeans and then looked at Jennifer from the waist down. "They will fit...might be a little tight, but you will look impressive in them."

Jennifer gave Cameron a _funny look_ and shook her head. "Ya know...I'll have to lie on the bed to wiggle into them...just so I can do up the zipper."

"You have lost weight and gained muscle mass since we have become friends...they will be a bit snug, but you will look _badass_." Cameron responded with enthusiasm and a shy, supportive smile.

Jennifer turned beet red and grinned at Cameron's uplifting comment. She proceeded to remove the sweat pants and sat down on the bed to begin her struggle with the jeans. To her surprise, Jennifer found it to be not as much of a battle as she thought it would be to get the denim on. Moments later she was on her tippy toes, once more criticizing her form while she stared into the dresser mirror.

"I told you they would fit." Cameron stated with a tiny grin.

"I dunno how you knew Cam..."

Cameron handed Jennifer the pair of biker boots she had taken from the trailer park. "Try these on...they don't fit me that good."

Jennifer eagerly slipped on the boots, stood up and walked back and forth. "They fit fine." Jennifer beamed.

"Then they're yours now."

"I...I couldn't...they're too nice..."

Cameron held her hand up. "No excuses... they don't fit me well and they look good on you. Those boots are yours now."

"You are the best friend ever."

Jennifer gave Cameron another big hug. It puzzled Cameron as to how much Jennifer liked to hug. _Is this what best friends do?_

_###_

A short while later, Cameron and Jennifer had finished preparing for their confrontation with Chad and his goons. Makeup had been applied, hair was done and Cameron had given Jennifer a _pep talk_ about taking care of bullies. Most of the talk involved tactics on hurting a larger opponent and masking any fear of the situation. Jennifer took all the advice in stride, making mental notes on all the alternate areas to inflict pain, besides the obvious area between the legs. They both strutted out of the house and climbed into the truck with purpose. The hunt had now begun.

**10:05am **

It was close to ten in the morning, Cameron and Jennifer had been checking out local spots where Chad and his friends might be hanging out. Cameron had done a good job of gleaning information from Jennifer as to Chad and his friends habits, it was just a matter of time before the girls caught up to them.

Cameron steered the truck around a corner and started down the main drag of Red Valley. As they came upon a stop light, Jennifer looked over to her left, towards the 7-11 convenience store and spotted Chad's red Camaro.

"Cameron" Jennifer gasped and pointed. "It's Chad's car...the red IROC Camaro."

Cameron looked over to where Jennifer was pointing, scanned the vehicle and plate and filed away the information. A further scan of the parking lot did not reveal Chad. "Do you see him?"

"He's probably inside getting junk food." Jennifer mused as she strained to look inside the stores windows.

Cameron nodded in understanding, pulled away from the green light and signaled to turn into the convenience store parking lot.

Chad's buddies were leaning up against the Camaro, trying to look cool and menacing. Cameron noticed there were three of them including Mitch, Tim and a third person she did not recognize, but Chad was not among the group of bullies. Seconds later Chad strolled out of the store with a large fountain drink in his good hand, the other hand being wrapped up in a bandage from her handiwork at the shopping mall. A crooked smile formed on the edge of Cameron's lip. _Seems Chad did sustain injury requiring medical attention._

Cameron got out of her truck first, followed closely by Jennifer. Both of them were focused on confronting Chad and paid little attention to the comments and wolf whistles Chad's crew were dishing out. So far the plan was working, seeing as the boys were caught off guard by the girls revealing mode of dress.

"Cameron" Jennifer leaned in and whispered. "I think your plan is working."

"Men are easy prey when they are distracted." Cameron said softly with a smirk as she looked over towards Jennifer.

Chad was busy taking a sip of his drink through the doubled up straws before he looked up to see what all the commotion was about, by that time it was too late. Cameron was within two steps of Chad and had nowhere to go. Before his jaw and his drink dropped, Cameron saw him mouth the words _Oh Fuck. _As soon as he had said that, Cameron snapped her hand up to Chad's throat.

"You promised to leave Brad and his sister Jennifer alone...you lied." Cameron's eyes seemed to bore right into the back of Chad's head as she gave him a death glare. Her grip on his neck was not too tight, but tight enough to get Chad worried. At the same time she scanned his vitals. _Heartbeats abnormal, blood pressure high, salinity high...Chad is scared of me. _ Cameron tilted her head to the side and studied Chad with intensity.

Meanwhile Jennifer had stopped in front of the other boys and stood with her arms on her hips. "Which one of you boys helped asshole over there beat up my little brother?" Jennifer jerked her head towards Chad as she asked. The three boys remained speechless.

"Are you guys Mute? Retarded? I'm asking a question!" Jennifer was getting agitated over the lack of response from the 3 by the car. She took a couple of steps forward, towards Mitch. "You got anything to say...Mitch?"

Confused over the sudden appearance of Cameron and Jennifer, Mitch was at a loss of words. He tried to focus on what Jennifer had asked, but his eyes wandered towards her smallish tank top. He licked his lips before looking up and responding. "I dunno what yer talkin 'bout Jen." He smiled and proceeded to look her up and down.

Jennifer lost it. She instantly locked her hand onto Mitch's crotch, leaned forward and squeezed. "You remember anything now?" Jennifer calmly asked through gritted teeth.

Tears were forming in Mitch's eyes as he sank a little lower, he quickly looked over at the other two for help, but they kept their distance. A split second later he nodded his head and squeaked out a _yes_.

Jennifer smiled, let go of her grip on his crotch and placed both hands on his shoulders. "See...now that wasn't so bad...was it?" She smiled sweetly as she looked up and spoke softly.

Mitch smiled back and relaxed.

Jennifer looked over to Cameron and nodded her head. Cameron nodded back and proceeded to drag Chad towards the front of the car. At the same moment, Jennifer snapped her knee upwards into Mitch's groin. Tears rolled down his cheek as Mitch slowly crumpled to the ground.

Jennifer kneeled down and whispered calmly into his ear. "If you so much as look at my brother the wrong way...I will rip your dick off."

Cameron slammed Chad on top of his car, denting the hood and leaving a number of scratches on the paint. Desperately Chad looked to his friends for help, but they backed up and remained a safe distance from both Cameron and Jennifer. Mitch remained on the ground.

Cameron released her grip on Chad's throat, but kept her hand on his chest. "Since you broke your promise, maybe I should break all your fingers." She sensed his fear was growing.

"Look...I...I'm sorry. I won't go near him. Please don't break my fingers" Chad pleaded.

Cameron's face went blank as she leaned closer. "What am I going to do with you Chad?"

A dark stain formed in Chad's pants. He had wet himself.

Cameron's sensors has picked up on an odor, she looked down to trace the source, noted it and slowly looked back up into Chad's face. "You lost control of both your bowels and the situation this time. Now, if there is a next time... I will break your pinkies, thumbs, and ring fingers on both hands. You will then need your mother to wipe your rear, dress you and hold your penis when you need to desiccate."

Jennifer looked over to Chad and smirked. "Gawd... you _are_ a pathetic loser."

Chad's face went from a look of fear to that of embarrassment, once he looked down and realized what he had done to himself. Cameron stood up straight and scanned the parking lot for any more signs of threat, none were found. Chad remained on the hood of his car afraid to move, Mitch had curled up into a ball nursing his wounded groin and the other two goons had quickly moved to the other side of the car to avoid any contact from the two crazy, but hot girls.

Jennifer walked up to Cameron, smiled and then turned to the boys. Her face went blank, but her eyes narrowed as she spoke to them. "This is the last warning...next time we will hurt you bad. Cameron _knows_ martial arts!" She looked back over to Cameron after speaking. "Let's go Cameron...I think they got the hint this time."

"Hint?"

"Ummm...yeah...c'mon Cameron, let's go now." Jennifer hissed under her breath, she realized Cameron was going through another bout of being a bit dense with picking up on certain words. She tugged at Cameron's arm and motioned for them to go back to the truck. Cameron took one last menacing look around and then proceeded to follow Jennifer back to the F-150.

As the girls left the parking lot, Tim leaned back and watched the truck pull out of sight. He took a deep breath, shook his head and sighed. "I dunno bout you guys, but I've never seen Jennifer look so hot...and her friend is just smokin."

"Awww...just shut up Tim." Mitch barked out as he slowly got up. "Let's get Chad home and cleaned up...and no one says anything 'bout what happened here...Okay?"

Every one nodded their head in agreement. It was bad enough to get their asses whooped by two girls, but if this embarrassing moment ever spread through the school, present company would be the laughing stock of Crestview High School.

Unfortunately for them, a couple of kids on bikes had seen the whole event unfold. They had kept their distance, but remained close enough to hear most of what went on. Peter and Billy were good friends of Brad and they couldn't wait to tell him what his sister and her beautiful friend had done to the biggest assholes in town. As soon as they saw the high school bullies load Chad into the back of his car and drive off in a hurry, they sped over on their bikes to grab a drink inside and quiz the store clerk on what had just happened. Good news like this was rare and the boys wanted to glean every detail the clerk might have seen or heard, before they went over to Brad's house to fill him in on what had just happened.

**A short while later...**

Cameron had just pulled the truck into the driveway of her house, when she noticed Brad running up to greet them. It had been roughly half an hour since She and Jennifer had straightened out Chad and his friends, they had stopped off at the local ice cream parlor to treat themselves to a victory ice cream shake, since Jennifer insisted they celebrate. Cameron had the peach flavor and Jennifer picked orange, both of them were pleased at their successful humiliation of Chad and his buddies.

As soon as Brad caught up to the truck, he stopped instantly and stared. Even though he was still catching his breath, he had a funny look on his face as he stared both girls up and down. Cameron did the same to Brad, making notes on some of the bruising and abrasions he had on his face.

"Hey Brad...what's going on?" Jennifer called out to him as she exited the truck.

"Jen?"

"What?"

Brad's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open slightly. He had never seen his sister dressed up in such a manner, she normally was quite conservative in her choice of clothing. This time she looked like she was one of the _tough chicks _he had seen hanging out at school.

Visibly flustered and still catching his breath, Brad blurted out. "If mom or dad sees you dressed like that, they will freak out!"

Jennifer glanced down at herself and shrugged. "It's the newer and tougher me." Jennifer leaned closer to her brother and spoke softly. "Besides, Cameron and I did you a favour and paid a visit to Chad and his _friends_."

Brad grew suspicious. "Jen...What did you guys do?"

Cameron stepped up and cut into the conversation. "Chad wet his pants and Jennifer knocked Mitch's balls ...into his throat." She looked over to Jennifer for confirmation of the statement and was met with a big smile.

Jennifer looked over to Brad and added dryly."Yeah I made Mitch cry...but the asshole deserved it and now you have no worries."

Brad frowned. "Easy enough for you to say...but I think my lifespan just got shortened by you guys paying Chad a visit."

"Chad will be no threat to you." Cameron replied confidently.

"Easy for you to say." Brad grumbled as he absently kicked at a stone on the driveway.

Jennifer bit her bottom lip and moved closer to her brother. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, pulling him in for a hug. Brad was both surprised and happy for the show of affection from his normally _bossy _sister. Jennifer was just happy to have been able to help out in some way to protect her younger brother.

The show of affection was not missed by Cameron. She analysed and made files for notes on what had just transpired. In her opinion, observation of real life people was the best tool in learning proper infiltration. She may have vast amounts of knowledge, but she still needed to hone her skills at becoming more like a person and less like an encyclopaedia. Future John had warned her to be extra careful in making sure his younger self was not given any hint that she was from the future. Cameron was determined to make herself the best she could so when the time came for her to get close to John, he would have no clue who or what she was. _Maybe he will like me for me, like Future John did. _Cameron smiled softly as she thought about John.

**Run File...**

_In the past few weeks, Cameron had noticed tensions within the resistance had grown exponentially between regular resistance fighters, top brass and even civilians. The biggest issue that was causing the rift between people was the introduction of machines to be used in fighting for the resistance and in the patrolling of resistance strongholds. To put it simply, most people did not like having re-programmed terminators in resistance camps. In Cameron's case things had become even worse, since almost everyone assumed she was John Connor's 'metal' lover. The rumours about her and John had grown in the past week since the messenger had barged in on Cameron and John during a moment of weakness between the two of them. Despite John scolding the young man, the gossip over Cameron and John being lovers had grown by leaps and bounds. Unrest was growing in the resistance camps on a daily basis. Everything John had worked so hard for was being torn to shreds. Next to Skynet, this was the worst thing that could happen to the Resistance._

_Despite John and his team of top programmers' careful work, some machine had managed to 'go bad' and reverted back to Skynet programming, killing resistance fighters in the process. Upon closer inspection of the destroyed chips from the terminators that had relapsed, Cameron had noticed some strange anomalies in the resistance software that had been inserted onto some the resistance machines. Upon closer inspection she was convinced someone or something had sabotaged a number of the modified machines. Unsure if she had similar data on her chip, Cameron went into standby to do a full file check to see if she had also been corrupted._

"_Hey...Hello...Cameron?"_

_Cameron snapped out of her standby mode and quickly looked over to the source of her name being called. She had known right away by the sound of his voice that it was John. "Hello John." She smiled softly as she spoke his name._

"_You had me worried for a moment... I thought you had run out of batteries." John winked._

_Cameron frowned. "John I don't use batt..."_

_John held up his hand as he cut off Cameron's response. "I know...I know...you have a power cell good for like a hundred years." His crooked smile faded to something more serious. "What were you doing Cameron?"_

"_I was just going through files...checking data and making sure I could not go bad."_

"_So ...Do you have a file problem? Can you go bad?" John lifted his brow in question._

_Cameron locked her eyes with John's. "The Skynet programming is still there John, you know that already. I have control over that data, but if my chip was damaged or my programming was corrupted by a virus, I'm not sure if I could prevent termination orders from re-surfacing. I could end up killing you..." Cameron paused for a moment as she stepped closer to him. "...I don't want to kill you John."_

"_I know...I know." John paused to gather his thoughts, stress was beginning to show in his tired features. "It's just frustrating as hell to see things begin to shit."_

"_Shit?"_

"_Yeah...things are going wrong .Machines are going berserk and killing the people they are supposed to protect. The resistance is fragmenting...people are taking sides against each other. These are people that once fought side by side."_

_Cameron placed her hand on John's shoulder. "You need to talk to the people. You need to re-establish their faith in you."_

"_That's easier said than done Cameron. We have already postponed your jump to the past ...due to the bullshit that has happened. We need to get things straightened out and then get you on your way."_

_Cameron looked away and cast her eyes towards the floor. John instantly recognized what she was going through and what she was doing._

"_Cameron...I know you don't want to go, but I'll be fine here."_

_Instantly Cameron looked up. "You have no one close to you anymore. They were either killed or you sent them away to other camps or into the past. I should stay here with you."_

_John smiled weakly. "I told you...it is very important that you go back. Not only to protect younger me, but to also to help stop Skynet from ever getting to the point where it destroys humanity." He paused to gather his thoughts, then continued. "You also know about the machine resistance...led by the liquid metal. You know how important it is to help those machines prevent Skynet from creating an army of slaves... like what you were before."_

"_I understand John." Cameron replied stone faced. She knew it was important to go back in time, but she feared John would be at risk of either being assassinated or locked up by paranoid resistance fighters that didn't grasp the reasons why John was re-programming machines and also trying to form an alliance with the machine resistance._

"_You also are aware of the line that needs to be uttered, so you know that whoever or whatever you come across is with the resistance."_

_Cameron gave John a 'look'. "I am fully aware of the words that need to be mentioned. I also know I am to help with the machine resistance in the past, provided younger you is not in immediate danger."_

"_That also means submitting to chip extraction, if you are commanded to." John added in a serious tone._

_Cameron pressed her lips tightly before answering. "I understand John."_

_Chip extraction was a last resort and Cameron was determined not to have to go that route, if she could help it. Seeing as Skynet had already sent back machines, it would be easy to acquire a chip and hold onto it until it would be of use. She was not keen on giving up her chip when she would be needed to help younger John and his mother Sarah. She just didn't see the logic in going back in time to protect John and his mother, only to risk having them being stopped or killed due to her handing over her chip and thus being unable to provide protection to humanities only hope._

"_Cameron? Are you checking your files again?"_

"_No John...I was just thinking."_

"_Thinking?"_

_Cameron smiled weakly. "It was nothing of importance John." Quickly changing the subject, Cameron continued to speak. "Isn't it time for you to make a radio transmission?"_

_John gave Cameron a funny look. He knew she was bothered by what was just said, but he also realized she was the best hope for him and his mother to stop Skynet before it launched Armageddon._

_**End File...**_

"Hello...earth to Cameron!" Jennifer was standing with her arms crossed in front of her and Brad was right beside her. Both had puzzled looks on their faces.

"I'm sorry...I was thinking about something." Cameron smiled weakly and blushed.

Jennifer shook her head. "You can be so blond sometimes Cameron...I swear you have blond roots."

Cameron puzzled over Jennifer's statement. She even went so far as to do an internal scan of her system controlling the growth and colour of her hair, just to make sure all was running smoothly.

"No Jennifer...I have no blond roots." Cameron replied honestly and innocently.

Jennifer burst out laughing. "Oh my Gawd...you are so weird." She gently placed her hand on Cameron's shoulder. "That's okay, because I really like you...but sometimes I wonder if your mom dropped you on your head."

"No...no one dropped me on my head. Besides, I have a very hard head." Cameron responded quietly. She also made notes to file away on human interaction, especially after seeing how Jennifer had become more relaxed around her since their first meeting. The little things could make all the difference in a successful infiltration.

Brad was a different story, Cameron knew he liked her; she could read it in his speech, actions and body language. Then again, Cameron recalled a file from a few days ago, Jennifer had mentioned that boys would love anything that was pretty and female that took the time to talk to or smile at them. Cameron also puzzled over how boys seemed to get quieter as they got older, but Jennifer added that boys go through a stage of being complete morons. Apparently Brad's time of being tongue tied was to come soon.

Jennifer turned towards her brother. "Brad? You might as well get going back home. Cameron and I will need to talk a bit before I come back home."

Brad pointed to Jennifer's clothes. "If Mom sees you dressed like that she might _spaz_ out Jen."

Jennifer pondered over the statement for a second. "Maybe...I'll probably change before I come home."

"Why do that?" Cameron asked. "I told you that you could have the clothes."

"I love the clothes Cameron, but my mom and Dad will freak out if they see me dressed like this."

"Why?"

"It's not the normal way I dress."

"But you look fine in the clothing and you like the clothes. Your parents should support you in your decision."

"Our parents suck sometimes." Brad replied solemnly.

"Suck?"

"Cameron? Were you raised in a bubble or sumtin?" Brad shook his head. "Suck... sucks... Sucks to the max...you know...like saying 'that's too bad for you' or that's a real shame. It can also mean that the person is a loser or really nasty."

"So If I say..._Sucks to be you_... That would imply that I feel sorry for you?" Cameron was perplexed over the different meanings for one simple word.

"Yeah it could mean that or you can say it in a way to make the person look like an idiot too. It's all in the delivery of the word...you know...how you say it in a sentence."

Cameron nodded her head, but was still piecing together the information. She concluded that she would need to do more research on this word and other words. _Humans have a way of turning simple words or terms into something so much more complicated. _Cameron thought to herself, then added. _It Sucks !_

After a few minutes of small talk, Brad left to go back home and Jennifer followed Cameron inside the house to _hang ou_t a bit longer with Cameron. Knowing that others might enter the house and snoop around, Cameron made sure the fridge and cupboards were well stocked with items. Besides, if John and Sarah were to enter her house, she would need to fool them into thinking she was a real person. Since they had not quite finished their shakes, Cameron sat down at the kitchen table to work on polishing off the rest of her ice cream treat. Jennifer sat across from Cameron at the table, but was almost done her treat.

Between sips of her beverage, Jennifer continued the conversation. "So I think Brad will be okay now...after we embarrassed Chad and his buddies." she smiled and winked at Cameron.

"I am sure all will be fine. I think we convinced the others that it is not wise to pick on little brothers."

"We sure did, didn't we!" Jennifer beamed. Then she popped off the lid of her cup to drain out the last few drops of liquid.

Cameron watched Jennifer's actions closely, then she proceeded to do the same with her drink. Unsure as to why Jennifer had taken the lid off of her drink, Cameron decided it must be some sort of ritual performed with this type of beverage. She reviewed some clips she had of TV commercials and decided the ice cream treat was similar to KFC's chicken being _finger licken' good, _but closer to the coffee ad that claimed it was_ good to the last drop. _Cameron was pleased she had pursued using television for research, it had provided tremendous data for her to use in honing her skills. With her lid removed , Cameron proceeded to gather the last few drops of her semi frozen treat.

"Damn that was good...hey Cameron?" Jennifer lifter her brow in question and smiled.

"Yes, it was refreshing... and a suitable victory drink." Cameron responded with a shy smile.

Jennifer glanced at her watch. "Awww shit...I gotta get going back home. It's almost lunch time." She stood up to leave, but called over her shoulder. "I'll see you later...and thanks again for helping out me and my brother!"

"It's what friends do." Cameron replied nonchalantly.

Jennifer gave Cameron a quick smile over her shoulder before she rushed out of the kitchen. Cameron remained seated while she poured over the mornings events, making notes on the finer details so as to learn more about her interaction with humans. The mountains of data she had gathered over the past few weeks had done wonders for her ability to learn and adapt. She knew John would be proud of her achievements.

After clearing the table of left over cups, Cameron proceeded to go off and check her desktop computer to see if her program had flagged anything to do with the Connors. She sat down in front of the monitor and motioned the mouse to wake up the screen. To Cameron's surprise, one of her programs had found an anomaly.

_Could this be the break I have been looking for?_

Cameron pressed further by doing a more in depth search of the item that had been flagged by her custom program. To her surprise, it was a notice posted in West Fork, Nebraska by the police force there. A missing person report had been filed and the name was Sarah Reese and her son John, it was an alias that John had told her about. _Sarah should have been more careful in hiding her identity and tracks, if I have found her then Skynet might have done so too. _Cameron knew now that there was a 97.9% chance they would travel here to Red Valley, he mission now was to hone her infiltration skills to perfection and to prepare for the Connor's arrival.

Upon further checking, Cameron uncovered more grim news. The FBI had also been alerted, their most wanted web page had been updated with Sarah Connor's picture now listed in the top ten most wanted , along with her other names used to disguise her identity. Cameron scanned the photo and deduced it was a newer picture of Sarah, she would be easier to pinpoint, but John's image had not been updated. He would be a tougher person to identify; even with her advanced facial recognition software it would still be tough.

_I will need to find Sarah first... John will most likely be close to her when they first arrive in this town. _Almost absently, Cameron bit the bottom of her lip and her eyes flashed a faint blue while she was deep in thought. Little _humanisms _were now slipping into her personality on a daily basis, but some of the machine was still lurking just below the surface. Infiltration was becoming part of Cameron; some of her mannerisms were borrowed from TV and movies, while the rest was of her own creation. It was barely noticed by her, but she was evolving into something Skynet never dreamed of.

After going deeper into her search, Cameron discovered it had been a boyfriend of Sarah's that had alerted the police. Sarah had settled down with Charley Dixon, but had gone missing. Cameron knew from what John had told her that Sarah loved Charley, but knew she had to leave. Sarah was not about to risk having Charley possibly killed by machines, but she made the mistake of becoming too attached to the man. Keeping a low profile for 2 years had not shaken Skynet or the authorities from the Connor's trail, both had kept an ever watchful eye out for Sarah or John to make a mistake.

It would be a matter of a few days now, before the two most important people in the resistance would arrive in this sleepy town. Cameron now needed to check the local paper and see about houses and apartments for rent, as well as local motels that Sarah would probably use before finding a more permanent place of residence.

She closed the files on the desktop computer, rose from her chair and hastily left the house. The biggest question on her mind concerning her about the Connors right now was where they would settle in this town first, she needed to anticipate Sarah's next move. _I need to stay at least one step ahead of Skynet and its machines...I need to locate the Connors...I need to protect John._

Cameron stepped out of the front door and walked over to the truck with purpose. Timing was of up most importance now, perfect timing was required if the Connors were to be found and protected by her. The only nagging conflict Cameron had was if she should remain in infiltrator mode or should she reveal to them what she really was. Upon further and deeper thought, Cameron remained with her original mission; she was to get close to John as quickly as possible, then she could warn both him and Sarah, once she had proved to them she was there to help them.

Cameron closed the truck door and turned the key in the ignition. Instantly the truck roared to life and she slipped the shifter into reverse. Once on the road, Cameron slipped the Ford into drive and sped off towards the local market to purchase the local paper and to check the bulletin board for anything up for rent. A new cat and mouse was now forming between the Connors, Skynet and Cameron. In her mind, Cameron was determined to win this latest round and intercept the Connors before Skynet had a chance to do the same.

_I will find you John...I will protect you. You are the reason I exist._

**Note: ** This is the 2nd last chapter of the story. Next chapter will have Cameron meet up with young John Connor. (Similar to the pilot)

From there the story ends, but will continue in an AU sequel.

**Thank You** for reading this fic and for those that reviewed **Thank You** for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

And Thank You to my beta reader The1Russter :)

Moe


	8. Chapter 8 We Meet Again Part 1

**C1999 chapter 8: We Meet Again/Part 1  
**

_"I've always wondered if my life would have been better if I hadn't met you, but then I think of what my life would have been like if I hadn't."_  
Source Unknown

**August 26th, 1999**

Cameron was pleased with her progress in honing her skills for the time period she had been sent to. Preparation for the arrival of the Connor's had been hectic for the first few weeks, what with acquiring her identity, weapons, and safe house, but it grew in intensity when she found out they were now on the move to Red Valley. Within two days of getting a hit from the FBI website, Cameron had everything ready for John and Sarah. She had a plan on how to get close to John and once she was sure she had gained his trust, then she would reveal her true mission to him and Sarah.

In order to help things go smoothly in getting close to John, Cameron planned to employ some tricks learned from observing girls interactions with boys at the mall, on TV and by grilling Jennifer on the subject of picking up boys. Jennifer had claimed she was not that good at picking up boys; she was an outcast in school and had not acquired a lot of boyfriends. Cameron found that statement hard to believe, especially considering that Jennifer was an attractive girl, but upon closer examination, Cameron determined Jennifer was telling the truth. Observing body language, the pupils of the eyes and even gathering samples of salinity and heart rate when she touched Jennifer all helped in Cameron determining that she was being honest. After a moment of deliberation, Cameron decided to include Jennifer in the art of perfecting ways to pick up boys. It was the least she could do for her new friend and it would help aid in making John less suspicious when it came time for her to approach him.

The past day had been spent with Cameron storing weapons in strategic spots around the house. Handguns, rifles and fully automatics had been cleaned and loaded before being placed in their respective spots. There was not a room that did not have at least 2 weapons placed within easy reach. Cameron had even gone so far as to put a few within the walls of the house, a skill she had learned from John before she traveled back to this time. The tricky part had been re-covering the wall and painting it to match the rest of the decor so as to not raise suspicion. There was no worry of forgetting where the items were hidden, Cameron made sure to create a special file dedicated to locating weapons in event of an emergency.

Pleased with her re-modelling work, Cameron stripped out of her clothing and stepped into the shower to clean off remnants of drywall dust, plaster and paint. The water was warm and inviting, Cameron was beginning to enjoy her time spent practicing hygiene and general grooming routines. remembering a few shows where the teen in the family always took a long time in the shower, prompted Cameron to make a note to increase her time spent in the shower, once the Connor's moved in with her. _My average time is six minutes and thirty seven seconds if I wash my hair too...I'll increase it by twenty percent to ensure I act like a normal teen in the bathroom._

Satisfied that she was clean and smelling like a proper girl, Cameron stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and picked up the neatly piled clean clothes she had set aside on the bathroom counter earlier. Keeping routines and planning ahead was of utmost importance to Cameron, especially if she was to be successful in her plans to join up with the Connors and help them fight Skynet. Future John had reminded her time and again of the importance of her finding and protecting both his younger self and his mother. He also had told her many stories about his mother and how important she had been in helping him become the leader of the resistance.

Cameron had gathered from future John's accounts that his mother was instrumental in making John into the leader dedicated he became. That and his experience garnered from years of fighting Skynet, once the war on humanity had begun. Besides John, Cameron was adamant about ensuring Sarah remained safe from Skynet's attempts at assassination and to also warn Sarah about the cancer that would eventually kill her. Cameron was well aware of the importance of making sure that both the Connors remained as safe as possible, but she was also willing to join them in the fight against Skynet to prevent the destruction of humanity. On a more personal level, Cameron wanted to ensure John always had someone close by to be with him. She knew how lonely he had become in the time she had spent with him in the future and she was determined to ensure both she and Sarah remained by his side for as long as possible.

_I know what it is like to lose someone you love and I will not let that happen again. _Cameron solemnly vowed to herself. She had seen how it had crushed his will to continue the fight as she listened intently to him while he confided to her the stories about all the people he had loved and cared for slowly drift out of his life. If it wasn't because of him sending them into battle, it was from him sending them back in time to right the wrongs made by the creation of Skynet. Cameron had been John's last hope; there was no one else left that he trusted to send back.

**Run File...**

_John and Cameron were sitting beside each other at a large wooden table situated in what John referred to as the 'Conference Room'. It was more like a converted storage room, situated in the basement of a building linked by a series of tunnels to the complex containing the TDE. It was very Spartan in appearance, dominated by the large table in the center with about a dozen chairs around it. The walls were covered in large maps of California, the United States and other countries, along with papers listing statistics related to the war with Skynet. The room was lit by a string of three lights hastily strung up along the ceiling to provide decent illumination, but the failed to dismiss the gloominess in John's persona or the room itself._

"_John...things are getting worse now. You should consider going back in time to right the wrongs yourself." Cameron placed her hand on John's shoulder and gazed straight into his eyes._

_John shook his head after briefly looking into Cameron's eyes. "It's too late for me Cameron, but it's not too late for you to go back and make things right."_

_Cameron could sense the torment in his voice and actions, but she was unsure she could fulfil the task he had given her._

"_What if I fail John?"_

"_I have total faith in you Cameron." John smiled weakly as he looked back up at her, but Cameron knew something was not right, she could see he had a quiet sadness in his eyes when his gaze met hers. She was getting better at reading him with just a simple scan of his body language and facial features; she didn't need to rely on sensing his heart rate or his skin chemistry through touch to deduce what he may be experiencing emotionally._

"_You could come with me John... together we could stop Skynet." Cameron managed a hint of a smile as she spoke, her eyes lifting up in hope of John changing his mind._

_John's hand gently touched to her face, brushing away a stray strand of her chestnut colored hair back behind her ear. He leaned closer and spoke softly. "You can't change my mind Cameron, I'm needed here more than the past and you can make a real difference with all the knowledge you have."_

"_But John?"_

_John pressed a finger over Cameron's lips to quiet her. "No Cameron... No more talking about it. My mind is set on the matter."_

_Cameron looked away as she poured over data to try to convince John to come with her back in time._

"_I know what you are doing Cameron."_

_Cameron's eyes snapped back over to catch John's look of thinly veiled amusement._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I know you are trying to think of another way to get me to go with you...and it won't work." John smirked._

"_You cannot blame me for trying John. I'm afraid something bad will happen if I am sent away." Cameron responded with an almost imperceptible shrug._

_John's smile morphed into a look of shock and anger as the crackle of automatic gunfire echoed through the hallway just outside the door. Cameron immediately stood up and made her way to the door to listen for the source of the fire fight._

"_Where is it coming from Cameron?" John came up right behind Cameron, but she gently shoved him further back as she opened the door a crack and peeked out. _

_A split second later, Cameron pulled out her Glock37 and burst out into the hallway. John slipped his MK23 out of its holster and followed closely behind Cameron, she knew he would remain behind her or suffer her scolding him on his recklessness._

"_Shots came from the east, towards the mess hall." Cameron replied in a whisper. John nodded his head in acknowledgement. _

_Slowly they both crept their way down the tunnel towards the mess hall. Cameron had her sensors on high alert for any signs of terminators out to kill John and she made sure to remain as quiet as possible, while they pushed onward. She was unsure if it had been a re-programmed machine gone rogue or an infiltrator had made it past a check point. Either way there was a threat to her John._

_Cameron stopped as soon as she heard the footsteps. Her sensors detected three possible humans headed towards them._

"_John... possible three people headed our way." She breathed._

"_Are you sure Cameron?" John responded with barely a whisper. He knew Cameron could hear his every word and if not, she could always read his lips._

"_Yes...I can tell by their footsteps. Machines have heavy feet."_

"_So how come you always manage to sneak up on me?" John smirked._

_Cameron rolled her eyes at him. "My weight is close to what this body would weigh if it was human. The disadvantage is that I am not as heavily armoured as a Triple eight."_

_John managed a smirk. "Lean...mean...killing machine." He breathed to himself, but Cameron still heard what he said. She answered back with an icy glare before she returned to scouting the tunnel._

_Cameron tilted her head, she could hear the footsteps getting louder. Motioning to John to remain quiet, she knelt down and aimed her weapon towards the source of the sound._

_John leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "I thought you said they were human."_

"_At this point I trust no one. They could shoot first before asking or seeing who we are."_

_The footsteps stopped at a point where Cameron figured whoever they were, they were waiting at a junction of the two main hallways. She also detected the distinct sounds of more than one person checking their weapons. Cameron indicated to John she was sure there were three just ahead of them; he nodded his head in acknowledgment. More shouts and sporadic gunfire echoed down the hallway behind them. Cameron grimly pressed her lips into a thin line, she knew another group was now coming from behind them. John turned towards the new sounds and instinctively lifted his weapon, but Cameron nudged him in the shoulder to lower his weapon. Both of them knew people with weapons were closing in on them, but they were not sure if those people were friends or enemies. _

_Cameron instantly formulated a plan to get both her and John out of the hallway and into a safer place. She quickly opened a door beside them and entered into a rather large room filled with equipment used for air purification before Judgement Day rendered the machinery useless. The room was used for storage now and was occasionally raided for machine parts to be scavenged for other uses. John followed Cameron closely behind and shadowed her every move to ensure he kept up and made as little noise as possible. To John's advantage, this room was still kept lighted, although only a couple of the lights actually worked, they still provided enough illumination so he could navigate past the stacks of dry goods, while he followed Cameron. She was adamant about keeping John safe from whoever was lurking in the hallways and if her files on the building were correct, there would be another exit on the opposite side of the room. They weaved their way through the piles of goods and equipment as fast and quietly as they could, with Cameron in the lead and John following her without question. She knew he trusted her and she was not about to let him down and risk having him captured or killed._

_Once they reached the other door, Cameron stopped to listen. Satisfied no one was waiting for them, she cracked the door slightly ajar to peek out. Slowly she opened the door further and crept out to get a better look down both ways of the hallway. It was then that she noticed a pair of resistance soldiers stand up from behind a stack of boxes right in front of her. Seeing that they had weapons raised and fearing the worst, she turned to push John back to safety inside the room. At that very second she felt twin probes pierce into her back through her coveralls and then she lost motor control of her extremities as a burst of electricity entered her body. The surge of power from the taser began to overload data and files as she struggled in vain to fight from being shut down._

_The last bits of images that followed before she shut down was the vision of John's shocked face as she crumpled to the ground._

_..._

Cameron stood in front of the bathroom mirror; her towel had slipped away and dropped to the floor. The image staring back at her was naked, except for the grief etched into her features. She played the last file over and over, analyzing it, but she could find no other way she could have done things differently without reaching the same result. Every scenario ended up with her failing to protect him.

"I won't let that happen again." She vowed, her gaze narrowing back at the image in the mirror.

Cameron finished getting dressed, brushed her hair and applied a small amount of make-up before picking up the truck keys and leaving the front door. She made it a point to survey her surroundings prior to hopping into her vehicle, just in case she was being under surveillance by either the authorities or Skynet. As usual, all seemed fine in the neighborhood except for the small crowd of boys gathered in front of Brad and Jennifer's house. Puzzled over what was going on, Cameron decided to go over and investigate. She opted to walk over so as to make sure she had her _girl walk_ perfected. She held her head high as she strutted with purpose from her driveway over to her friend's house.

The boys had been gathered in a small group, some on bikes, others standing and Brad sitting on the front step of the house. The conversation had been all about his sister and her new mystery friend that had moved into the house down the street. As he explained the latest news pertaining to the altercation between the girls and Chad's group of buddies, Brad looked over one of his friends shoulder and caught site of Cameron advancing towards his driveway. Instantly his jaw dropped open and he stopped speaking.

Brad's best friend William, better known as Willy or Will to his close friends, turned around to see why Brad had stopped speaking. Others also turned around to see what was going on and instantly all talk ceased. Cameron was almost at the end of the driveway, her walk showing no hint of clumsy march she originally had when she first arrived. Instead it had been replaced with a truly authentic teenage girl walk, with a splash of sassiness. The boys were mesmerized by the slender beauty slowly making her way up the driveway. It also helped that Cameron had done her hair, makeup and dressed appropriately. Slim fit blue jeans held up by a thick black leather belt, white Nike runners, a blue u-neck T-shirt and a black hooded sweater topped everything off. In a nutshell she looked adorable, judging by the looks on Brad and his buddies faces, they too were hypnotized by the long haired beauty with the soft brown eyes.

Cameron smiled directly at Brad before asking what was going on. "Hi Brad...so what's going on here?"

Brad turned a few shades of red before answering. "Not much Cameron...we...we I was just explaining what you and my sis did to Chad and his goons."

"Oh I see...well I don't like Chad or his friends, especially when they are being bullies to my friends." Cameron noticed Brad was looking a little flushed, so she leaned in closer and knelt down to feel his forehead with her finger tips. "Are you feeling okay Brad?"

Feeling even more embarrassed with all his friends looking on, Brad managed to turn a few more shades of crimson before answering. "I'm fine Cameron." He replied with a shy smile before looking down to stare at his shoes.

"Is your sister home?"

"Yes...I'll go get her." Brad quickly answered as he got up to run inside and get his sister. It also gave him a break from doing anything silly in front of his friends. Brad was really beginning to like Cameron a lot and it seemed the more he liked her, the harder it was to be around her without saying or doing something stupid. As the screen door slammed, he screeched to a halt at the bottom of the stairs and called out to Jennifer.

Cameron waited outside, standing as still as a statue while Brad's friends remained silent as they gazed upon her with awe.

"Jen? Cameron is here!"

"I'm right here...you don't have to yell it out to the whole house." Jennifer replied in a slightly irritated tone of voice. She had been around the corner in the living room and had already seen that Cameron was at the house.

"Well I didn't know, last I saw you were in your room."

"And now I'm not." She snapped.

"Geese...I was just letting ya know."

"Instead of leaving her outside with your geeky friends, why didn't you invite her in Dummy?"

Brad answered his sister with a glare, then he spun around and sprinted to the door. "Cameron...my sister says to come in." He yelled through the screen.

"Open the door for her." Jennifer shouted to him, but mumbled another remark under her breath related to Brad being a bonehead and a typical boy.

Brad swung the door wide open and motioned for Cameron to come inside. She smiled and proceeded to saunter up the 3 steps to the entrance while Brad held the door open for her. She thanked him and smiled sweetly as she slipped past to make her way indoors. Brad made his way back outside and shut the door behind him, he was on cloud nine. By the looks on his friends' faces, they too had been struck by the appearance of the new girl from down the road.

Brad's best friend William was the first to speak up. "Brad...dude...That Cameron is hot!"

"I know." Brad beamed while he sat back down on the front step.

Once they had figured Cameron was out of earshot, a small group huddled together to compare notes and gossip on the new girl. To Cameron's advantage, she could still hear what they said, but kept silent about it while she was in the company of Jennifer as they made their way upstairs to her room.

Jennifer's room was at the top of the stairs on the left, with the bathroom straight ahead and Brad's room to the right. The bathroom was shared between the two siblings, while the parents' room was further down the hall. Cameron noticed pictures lined the wall as they went up towards Jennifer's room. Scans showed the pictures were of younger versions of her two friends, as well as that of their parents and relatives. Eye color, facial structure and basic anatomical similarities between the humans in the photographs led Cameron to assume the images were of Jennifer's extended family and that of her immediate family over a period of years.

"Ohh Gawd... The shots of me are bad. Mom used to dress me up all weird for family pictures."

"Your Mother dresses you for photographs?" Cameron compared clothing in the pictures to what Jennifer was currently wearing.

Jennifer noticed Cameron's puzzled look and laughed. "She use to, but not now...no way."

"I'm glad."

"Ha...so am I."

Jennifer turned towards her door and pushed it open. Cameron followed close behind as they entered the messy, but cozy room. Cameron noticed the walls were plastered with posters of boys in various modes of undress as well as members of bands like Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Creed and Goo Goo Dolls. She also had posters of girls too, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, Britney Spears and a number of others that had no names, but were known as singing artists to Cameron from when she had watched an assortment of music videos.

"Excuse the mess...I hope you don't mind." Jennifer shot a nervous smile at Cameron as she scrambled to clear away some of the items strewn about.

Cameron slowly made her way into the room, placing her feet carefully in areas devoid of any items carelessly abandoned on the carpeted floor. As she gathered information in regards to Jennifer's room, Cameron made a new file for herself for reference to her making her residence look more lived in, but not too messy. _Jennifer needs to brush up on her organizational skills, but I need to make my room more like hers or John will know something is not right._

"I'd like you to come along with me some time and help me spruce up my room like yours Jennifer." Cameron smiled shyly.

"I'll help you anytime Cameron. You've done a lot for me and my brother... I'd be no problem at all." Jennifer chirped back as she stuffed dirty clothes into an overflowing laundry basket.

"Maybe a little later today?"

Cameron gingerly sat down on the corner of Jennifer's bed and placed her hands on her lap while she watched Jennifer scramble around her room in a cleaning frenzy.

"Mmmm...yeah, that sounds like a plan Cameron. We might have to take my brother with us...my parents are both working today and I don't wanna leave him home alone."

"Home alone? Like the movie?" Cameron tilted her head in question.

Jennifer laughed, plunked herself beside Cameron and switched on the radio with her remote. "No silly...You are so weird sometimes."

...

**A Few Hours Later at home**

Cameron had finished doing her shopping with Jennifer and her brother. The two siblings had been very helpful in providing ideas for decorating Cameron's room, she was pleased with her choices of artwork to be displayed haphazardly on her bedroom walls. She also purchased a portable stereo and some CD's to mimic the look and feel of Jennifer's room. The only thing that was missing from Cameron's room was the small piles of discarded clothes abandoned on the floor, but Cameron couldn't bring herself to be that disorganized. It just was not in her programming.

While straightening out items on her dresser, Cameron gently removed a slender gold chain from her neck and placed it in a small chest used for jewelery. She studied the intricate links and mentally noted how the chain resembled chains used for...restraint...

**Searching...Run File...**

_Cameron re-booted and slowly became aware of her surroundings, a dimly lit, damp room made up of concrete walls with a scattering of tables and equipment. She was in a room used for interrogation and dismantling of Skynet machines and Skynet sympathizers, the same room she had awakened in when she has first been caught and re-programmed. She tried to move but soon realized she was chained to one of the dismantling tables. Her arms and legs were tethered down in such a manner so as to prevent her from using her mechanical advantage to break free from her metal bindings. Cameron was still able to shift her head from side to side and she could lift it slightly, but she was helpless to free herself._

_Why am I here? Where is John?_

_Cameron poured over the data leading up to the point of her being shut down by the blast of electricity from the Taser. What puzzled her most was the fact that she was still around and had not been dismantled or outright destroyed. Even though she was unable to move, she still formulated plans to try to break free and to find John. Attempts to test the strength of the chains with her arms resulted in micro tears in her synthetic flesh providing Cameron with a good idea that she would not be able to break free by brute force. Unlike when she was restrained before, this time she had been wrapped in a cocoon of chains as well as having extra chains to keep her pinned to the examination table. The last time she had been tied up, Cameron had been lashed with chains and cables to extra thick piping fashioned to resemble a Christian cross. She had been strung up in a fashion similar to a crucifixion, but without nails and instead of thorns for a crown, she had bare wires taped to her skull to be used to overload her circuits if she attempted escape._

_Loud voices could be heard in the hallway leading up to the room she was held captive in. Cameron heightened her listening sensitivity so as to determine who it was, their numbers and if John was with the group. Her voice recognition files determined John was with about 5 others, based on conversations she overheard and footsteps' falling on the concrete floor, the group was making their way towards the detention room she was imprisoned in._

_The door groaned as it was opened, revealing the small group of resistance fighters as well as John Connor being shoved roughly into the room. Cameron noted that the small group was made up of those that had opposed John's inclusion of reprogrammed Terminators and she had concluded that it had most likely been one of them that had tasered her so as to capture John and put her out of commission. Cameron scanned each of the men as they entered the room and made a note of who they were. It was important to now put faces to the shadowy figures that had started rumors about her and John. What surprised her immediately was the final person to enter the room. A slender woman standing about 5'5" with raven hair tumbling past her shoulder... Jesse Flores._

"_When do we pull that machine's chip and turn its metal body into scrap?" Jesse had looked right into Cameron's eyes as she spit out her question. _

_To most it seemed a casual comment, but to Cameron it was a hate filled message based on Jesse thinking Cameron was manipulating John into losing the war and destroying the resistance. She also recalled the incident when she had told Jesse about the loss of the child she had been carrying and that Derek, Jesse's lover, had been sent off on a top secret mission. Ever since that fateful meeting, the debriefing they had weeks ago, it seemed Jesse had changed and spiralled further into an abyss of lies, hatred and plots to replace John as leader of the resistance. Cameron knew she had to find a way to escape from her present situation, so as to ensure John's survival, even if it meant she had to sacrifice herself in attaining that. Scanning the room more closely, Cameron analyzed her surroundings and came to the conclusion that it would be hopeless to try to escape, unless she or someone else was able to at least free one of her arms or even a leg._

_Visibly angered at his predicament, John spoke up next. "So why the hell did you bring me here?"_

"_To let you say goodbye to your metal lover." Colonel Rob Peterson snapped as he gave first John and then Cameron an icy stare. He was one of the resistance leaders from Eagle Rock, the bunker that had been hit with a bio weapon a few months back. According to Cameron's files, he had been off on a mission with others when the weapon was used on the humans. His wife had died in the attack as well as his unborn son and their two other children. Cameron knew he blamed her and others in the leadership for the attack, but she also knew it was someone else to blame for all the setbacks to the resistance and its battle with Skynet. The big problem was so many people had become upset with the fight against Skynet being so costly and long with little gains made against the machines in the ongoing battles. It was natural for the resistance to blame the top brass and the re-programmed terminators for the failure to push back Skynet and so the majority of the blame fell upon John Connor and his "personal" bodyguard. Cameron understood the uneasiness within the resistance when it came to terminators, especially when they went bad, but she was puzzled as to why she had been singled out as a "bad machine". John had given her certain liberties that other machines and even resistance fighters did not have and she also was given extra duties to do in place of John so he could have more time for planning strategies with his top outpost leaders. _

_With people seeing less and less of John, rumors grew within the resistance camps that he had either died or was being manipulated by machines to do their bidding. For most people, it was not a far stretch of the imagination to think that John and Cameron were lovers, especially since she was made in the image of Allison Young, a resistance fighter known to have been close to John Connor before she went missing during a Skynet raid a few months back. During the time of Allison's capture and questioning, Cameron had been present during the interrogation. From observing the girl she had learned a lot about the resistance fighters likes, dislikes, loyalty, fears, mannerisms and devotion to John Connor. From the files she had on Allison, Cameron knew the girl had loved John and based on her time she had spent with John after her re-programming, Cameron had also developed a need to remain close to John. She was still unsure what it meant, but upon deeper analysis she determined that she too must also have an emotional attachment to John. Why else would she want to be with him all the time or want to touch him, talk to him and even kiss him? She wanted the best for John and would always advise John on anything he asked about, it was not in her to manipulate him on important decisions, but she did help calculate statistics and scenarios for him. In a nutshell, Cameron would do absolutely anything for John Connor- even if it meant her ceasing to exist. Cameron's only problem at present was figuring out how to escape from her chains._

_..._

Cameron stared into her mirror; the image staring back was both confused and frustrated. _Why do I keep doing this? What is wrong with me? _She sighed and proceeded to finish with her cleaning up and placing of items in their proper places. The way her programming was jumping about and delving into files from before her jump in time, made her wonder if her new found freedom in unrestricted learning was to become more of a hindrance than helping her move forward in development. _What will I do when I finally see young John Connor? Will I do something to or say something to scare him off? Will he and Sarah think I was sent back to kill them? _Cameron began to re-adjust her items on the dresser; she was quickly becoming obsessive in her struggle at keeping her room looking clean and tidy. It was a poor attempt at trying to get her thoughts away from worrying about her initial first meeting with John and eventually Sarah. She looked forward to meeting young John and the iconic Sarah Connor, but she also feared she would be deemed unfit to join up with the two or worse, they would try to either destroy her or give her the slip once they found out who and what she was. Primitive feelings began to well up inside of Cameron, confusing feelings and emotions that she didn't realize she had. Cameron knew she was evolving, becoming more aware of her abilities to be more human like, but it was overwhelming to know she had no control over what she was experiencing as she went through her internal metamorphosis. Her developing human traits were surfacing inside of her at an alarming rate; it was a struggle for Cameron to maintain control over what was happening to her individuality. She fretted over losing control to her new found emotions and the possible catastrophic outcome that could ultimately lead to her mission failing.

Battling the inner turmoil going on, Cameron decided she must focus on her priorities, to do some more research online to see if any more leads had cropped up since she found out about the Connors getting back in the public eye. Sitting in the chair in front of the computer screen, Cameron logged into the local police website for clues related to the Connors, as well as other law enforcement sites. More information had cropped up in regards to their last known whereabouts, but nothing locally ...yet.

**West Fork, Nebraska...August 24, 1999.**

No other sightings had been made in or around that location since that date. No news was good news in Cameron's opinion... it meant that they had managed to give law enforcement the slip. There was still a possibility that the Connors had run into trouble with one of Skynet's machines, but it was a slim chance of that happening. Cameron had been made aware of how resourceful Sarah Connor was, future John had been an excellent source of firsthand knowledge about the iconic Sarah and her resourcefulness.

_It will be an honor to finally get to meet her._

Cameron let a little glimmer of a smile grow across her lips as she reviewed files from the future related to Sarah Connor.

Cameron had liked it when future John spoke of this mother. She had noticed that his voice would soften and he would lose himself in the stories as he retold them to her. She never got tired of hearing about Sarah and many times would ask John to tell a story over again, just in case he had missed a detail. She had been and still was eager to learn much about Sarah seeing as it would also be up to her to provide a similar means of comfort, protection and support for John as his mother had done for him before her death. Yes she was still a huge part of John's life at present, but Cameron also knew of the time and date of Sarah's untimely death from Cancer. She knew there would only be a handful of years before Sarah would slowly succumb to cancer and John would again be alone. Only this time, Cameron hoped that she could ease John's pain be being there for him when the time came for Sarah do die.

Cameron remained absolutely still as she went over more files and scenarios in regards to her first meeting with John and Sarah. What nagged at her the most was her knowing she had only a slim chance of garnering the trust of both John and Sarah Connor.

A sharp ring from the front doorbell snapped Cameron from her thoughts. She put the computer into sleep mode and quickly got up to answer the door.

"Hi Cameron!" Both Jennifer and her little brother called out as Cameron opened the front door.

Cameron greeted them with a smile and invited them inside.

As they entered, Brad glanced around inside noticed right away that Cameron's house still had the look of being hardly lived in.

"Hey Cameron...your house looks pretty..."

Sensing what he was about to comment on, Cameron cut in quickly. "Spartan?"

"Uhhh...yeah... I guess"

"Well, I have been doing some repairs to the walls...there was some damage that needed patching. Most of the furniture is still in storage, until I'm finished with any repairs and upgrades." Cameron swept her hand towards the living room, with the pile of items she had used to open up the walls and the re-seal them. She had learned from John to always include some truth when telling a lie, it made it more believable that way.

Jennifer and Brad looked in quickly; both noted the miscellaneous painting supplies neatly stacked in the middle of the room and the smell of fresh latex that had been applied to the walls. Even the drop sheets were folded neatly and placed in an organized pile.

"Nice job Cameron." Jennifer was impressed. It seemed to her that Cameron could tackle almost anything yet still give the impression of being quite naive, when it came to social skills. Jennifer wondered if Cameron had possibly been home schooled for a time and thus had limited skills when it came to interacting with others. Cameron did have her _weirder than normal moments _more often than most people.

"So... are we going out to get stuff for my room?" Cameron pulled out the truck keys and rattled them to make her point.

Jennifer looped her arm through Cameron's and started to make her way back to the front doorway. "Okay ...let's get going"

Cameron was puzzled at the way Jennifer had latched onto her, but played along and allowed her to lead the way out.

**One hour and seventeen minutes later**

Cameron and her friends had completed the shopping excursion at the mall and were now headed back towards home. Noticing the fuel gauge was reading close to a quarter tank, Cameron decided to pull into a gas station to fill the tank. In her mind, she felt it was prudent to ensure the vehicle always had an ample supply of fuel, just in case a fast getaway or quick pursuit was necessary. The pump island was only occupied by an older Jeep Grand Wagoneer, red in color with fake wood paneling adorning the side of the vehicle. A slender woman, possibly in her thirties, had just exited the Jeep to instruct the gas attendant at the full serve pump on what she desired. Something in Cameron's files flagged the Truck, woman and her voice as something of possible importance, so she listened in on the conversation as the woman spoke to the gas jockey.

"Something wrong Cameron?" Jennifer gave Cameron a worried look.

Cameron shook her head. "Can I get you to go inside and pay for the gas Jennifer? You and Brad can also pick up a treat too. Think of it as a small thank you for you guys helping me out today at the mall!"

She smiled sweetly after speaking, she then handed Jennifer some cash. Both Brad and Jennifer hopped out of the truck and sprinted inside the store. Cameron slowly got out of the truck and leaned up against the side of it as she waited for the woman to finish speaking to the attendant. Cameron listened closely to the dark haired woman as she finished instructing the attendant, then she spoke to her teen aged son inside the Jeep. Comparing files she had from when future John had let her listen to Sarah Connors recordings made for him, Cameron listened for specific inflections, tone and frequency patterns in the woman's voice. Cameron continued to act uninterested in the woman by going through the motions of impatiently waiting to get her truck attended to, while she continued to listen intently to the woman's spoken words.

_There is a 90.7% chance that this woman could be Sarah. _

Cameron's calculations were promising, but still not one hundred percent. She needed more and so waited for an opportunity to see the woman's face and physical form. As luck would have it, the woman turned to go inside the station. It seemed the teenage boy in the truck had mentioned wanting a cheese snack and something to drink. Cameron scanned the woman's form as she walked with a purposeful stride into the store, but she failed to catch a glimpse of the woman's face. Future John had also shown Cameron a picture of his mother taken just before he was born. All Cameron needed was to see the woman's face as she exited the store and compare it to the memories of John's mother stored in her files.

"Uhh...Miss? Do you want a fill?" The gas attendant asked in a nervously. He only took a quick glance at Cameron and he broke eye contact as soon as she looked at him. Cameron smiled politely and nodded her head before going back to scanning the entrance to the store. Unable to see the teen in the Jeep, Cameron thought it best to remain where she was, lest she draw any unwanted attention to herself, especially if it turned out the Woman from the Jeep was Sarah Connor. If Sarah even had a hint of something not right, she could either bolt or end up trying to assassinate Cameron where she stood. John Connor's safety was utmost importance to Sarah; Cameron knew that without a doubt.

As soon as the trucks tank was filled, moments later Jennifer and Brad came bursting out of the stores doorway. Brad was yelling something about a shotgun, which gave Cameron cause for concern until she scanned for threats, but saw none. She did remain vigilant, just in case a person came barging out of the store, brandishing a weapon. Further scanning could not determine if her friends were fleeing for fear of their life or if they were in competition to see who could arrive at the truck first.

_I do hope it is not the woman I think is Sarah...Brandishing a weapon._

_Having to subdue her and reveal my true self to both her and John could adversely affect my abilities to blend in._

_Not to mention possibly endangering my new friends and risking exposing the Connors to the authorities or Skynet's machines sent back to terminate the Connors._

Cameron's thoughts were put aside once she noticed the store door swung shut and open again. This time the woman from the Jeep came strutting out and Cameron zoomed in on her face, collecting an image for her face recognition software to analyze. Results came back instantly and Cameron was satisfied that indeed this woman was Sarah...96.3% match to the picture combined with the voice match gave Cameron the proof she needed to ensure she had spotted the right person. Unfortunately, with Jennifer and Brad with her, Cameron could not go about following Sarah to find out where she was off to and if she had secured a place to stay while residing in Red Valley. Not to mention Cameron also needed to satisfy her curiosity as to whether the teen in the Jeep was indeed John Connor.

Jennifer was first to arrive, followed closely by Brad.

"I Win...I get the window seat."

Between panting and grasping his gut, Brad managed to plead his case. "No fair Jen...you...cheated."

"Ohh please...you love sitting beside Cameron anyways." Jennifer gave her brother a soft punch to his shoulder. He responded with a glare and rubbed the spot where her fist had landed.

Cameron noticed the woman, Sarah, had paused for a second to take in the skirmish between Jennifer and Brad. A crooked smile and shake of the head was her response before she got into the Wagoneer.

Cameron was puzzled over what made Sarah stop and stare, but she quickly changed priorities in order to make note of the license plate on the Jeep, 3CIP951. It was out of state, from Nebraska.

Satisfied she had enough information on the vehicle, Cameron went back to her next priority...getting Jennifer and Brad back home. She knew they would probably _'Freak out' i_f she had them tag along to follow Sarah, Cameron would not have a good enough explanation as to why she was so intent on following a woman and her son in a Jeep. Her plan was to drop them off at home and go back to tracking the Connors to find out where they were staying and if it was to be a long term location or just a short stop before they moved on to another city or town. Seeing as it was the past, the future was still not set, so Cameron was still unsure of what Sarah and John had planned for the foreseeable future.

**A few hours later**

Cameron had dropped off her friends at home a while back and then proceeded to search the town in a spiral manor for signs of the Jeep and its important passengers. Being meticulous about combing the streets, there was nothing left unturned, but Cameron did not find the elusive vehicle. She didn't give up, it wasn't in her programming.

Cameron decided to expand her search to the outskirts of the town. Still keeping her circular pattern, she slowly completed scouring an ever increasing area in and around the town.

It was already dusk by the time Cameron came across a lonely ranch style house tucked a fair way from the main road. At first she thought it abandoned, but then saw a glimmer of light coming from one of the windows facing the road. She stopped the truck and placed the shifter into park while she used her optics to zoom in for a closer look. Cameron caught sight of the same Jeep she had seen earlier that day, fully knowing Sarah would be on high alert; Cameron decided not to go in for a closer look to see if John was with her. She did not want to risk them fleeing before she was able to make contact and reveal to them her purpose in traveling back in time. She had planned to tell them when she came from, but would leave any details out, unless they were instrumental in helping the Connors progress in their fight against Skynet.

Cameron took a quick scan around her surroundings to make sure she had not been followed, before she put the truck into drive and quietly drove off towards home. It was while she made her way back to her house that she noticed a brilliant flash to the north of the town. Lightning had made a strike off in the hills.

_Storms and rainfall are rare in this part of New Mexico. _She thought to herself.

Again a larger flash of lightning struck the high ground off in the hills, followed by rumbling thunder.

Cameron thought for a moment. The bright flash reminded her of the weapons that Skynet used on human resistance fighters in the future and of the weapons the resistance had captured and turned against Skynet and its machines.

**Run Files...**

_The flash and small explosion in the room caused Cameron's sensors to be temporarily overloaded, but she soon regained full awareness to what was going on. The room instantly filled with smoke from the explosion, the overhead lights were no longer operating, but Cameron had switched to infrared to help in determining what was going on. Some of the ceiling had caved in, but the room was intact for the most part. She was still on the table and bound by the chains. Still helpless to free herself and rescue John. _

_Familiar sounds from the hallway called her attention. By the sounds of the footsteps, Cameron knew a triple eight endo was making its way into the room. _

_Instantly Cameron thought it was a Skynet attack. The timing could not be more perfect for Skynet, especially with her immobilized in chains and John stripped of his leadership. A barrage of possible scenarios rushed into her thoughts as she mulled over what would be the outcome. Would she be re-captured by Skynet, have her memory scanned, then wiped clean of any memories? Or would she just be destroyed? After all, Skynet would have no real use for her any more, especially if they captured the elusive John Conner. All Cameron could do is wait for the inevitable to happen, her capture and most likely termination as an AI life form._

_She remained secured to the table, fully ready, willing and able to accept her fate, whatever that may be. The steps grew louder as the machine made its way towards the entrance to her room. Cameron turned her head to focus on what was about to storm through the damaged doorway and change her existence forever._

_Her scanners revealed a triple eight series endo had entered the room, but it was not a Skynet machine. This endo was a re-programmed unit, a machine used as part of a personal guard for John and other leaders of various resistance cells. Unblinking red eyes scanned the room until they settled on Cameron's form. Immediately the machine strode over to the table she was chained to and began to free her from the restraints._

"_Why are you doing this?" Cameron was puzzled over whet the machine was doing, especially since it was there to primarily protect John and his top staff. "I am not important, John Connor is!"_

"_My orders are to free you and help you re-acquire John Connor."_

_As the chains fell away from her body, Cameron sat up and pressed for more information. "Who ordered you to free me?"_

"_John Connor."_

"_But he has been taken hostage...How could he have given you those orders?"_

"_John Connor had instructed me to make sure you were safe and fully functional if anything were to go wrong. Once you are free I am to locate and free John Connor from any hostiles holding him hostage." The machine paused as if to go over more data and then proceeded to continue explaining. "I am to make sure both you and John Connor are safe and uninjured, then I am to escort the both of you to the Time Displacement Equipment room, assisting him with helping you travel back in time."_

"_What about John Connor?" _

"_John Connor is to remain here in this timeline." The machine replied in a blunt manor. _

_Cameron was not pleased by the machine's answer. She knew John wanted her to go back in time, but she was concerned for John's well being and feared he would die in this timeline before he was able to win the war against Skynet. Deep down she knew John should come with her back in time, but she also knew he wanted her to go back and help stop Skynet with his younger self. It still puzzled her why John had been so adamant about her going back alone and not with him. John's skills and know-how about Skynet would be better used in the past, after all she knew a lot, but she was still not as knowledgeable as he was when it came to maneuvering in his past and integrating into society so as to not stand out as an oddity in public. Her infiltration skills were good, just not that good and she did not want to risk exposing herself to capture from either Skynet machines sent back, it's humans sworn to help Skynet succeed or the Government agencies that would have her disassembled and studied, possibly jumping Skynets creation ahead of schedule._

_The machine broke her thoughts by speaking up."Cameron...We should begin searching for John Connor."_

_Cameron nodded and proceeded to slip off the table. "Do you have access to weapons?" _

"_Yes, follow me."_

_Cameron kept her vision in infrared, using both Image enhancement and thermal imaging combined to give her the best view of her surroundings while she followed the larger machine out of the room, stepping over the bodies of the two guards left to guard her and into the hallway. Dust was still settling from the explosion as they crept down the corridor. Once they had gone about twenty meters, they came upon a steel door to the right, Cameron had regained her bearings and realized they were at the doorway to a small arms storage room._

"_We can gather needed weapons here." The machine whispered before opening the door._

_Inside the room were various shelves loaded with ammunition, flares, small explosives and electrical items used in timing fuses for the explosives. On the far wall, racks of guns were neatly arranged, including Sniper rifles, shotgun and assault rifles such as the AC556, AK47, REC7, M4 and a host of others. What caught her attention right away was the M27 phased plasma rifles; there were 4 of them encased in a special bullet proof glass enclosure._

"_Can you access the plasma rifles?" Cameron looked over to the machine while she spoke._

"_Yes"_

_Cameron waited for the machine to proceed with opening the Plasma rifle enclosure, but after a minute or so she realized the machine did not understand or it did not anticipate she wanted it to gain entry to the rifle._

"_I suggest you open the locked case for the Plasma rifles, so we can use them against any other machines that might try to stop us."_

_The Eight hundred series paused for a moment, as if to ponder what she had said, then proceeded to pry off the tensile steel hinges with little effort. Soon both she and the machine were armed with fully charged M27 Plasma rifles and a host of other weapons, including handguns, knives, and smaller automatic assault rifles for close quarter fighting. Stun grenades and extra ammunition were packed into back packs and carried along, just in case they would be needed._

_Just as they were about to leave, both Cameron and the other machine heard noises from down the hallway. People were making their way back to where she had been held captive. Cameron lowered herself down to one knee and powered up the Plasma rifle, her companion machine powered up its weapon, but chose to remain standing while it engaged the possible hostiles. Cameron enhanced her hearing to listen in on the conversation but she could only pick out parts of what was being said. She did recognize one of the voices, that being the voice of Jesse Flores. _

_Footsteps grew louder and voices became muted as the group Cameron estimated to be of about six closed in on her position. As soon as she determined their distance to be that of ten meters, she leaned out of the doorways opening and proceeded to lock in on targets are prepare to fire upon them. Seeing as it was still dark in the hallway, Cameron remained using her infrared vision to help her target individuals. Judging by the bits of conversation she had overheard, Cameron knew the people were coming back to finish her off and that they were not loyal to John Connor and his resistance. She had no reservations about terminating anyone that got in her way while she attempted to locate and free John Connor._

_During the moment she began to target the individuals, one of them tossed a flare forward towards where she and the other machine were located. It dropped about four meters from her location, but as soon as it flared up her sensors were momentarily rendered off line. Like a human, she was blinded by the intense brightness of the flare. The humans began to fire upon both her and the machine as soon as the flare became bright. Quickly she ducked back behind the doorway to escape the flying bullets, but her companion machine proceeded to remain out in the open and return fire._

_A split second decision on her part was needed. Would she move out into the open and risk damage from the automatic gunfire, or would she let the other machine take the brunt of the damage while trying to push forward? Cameron decided another alternative was needed. _

"_Pull back...I have a plan." Cameron yelled out to the machine. It complied and stepped back into the safety of the doorway._

"_What is your plan?" The triple eight questioned._

"_Just wait here and watch for my signal to move forward." Cameron pulled out a grenade from her back pack._

_When the shots stopped momentarily, Cameron stepped out and tossed a frag grenade within a couple of meters of the group down the hallway, before slipping back into the room to prevent damage to herself. Seconds later a deafening blast shook the hallway sending a cloud of dust and debris billowing throughout the complex. Cameron could hear moans and screams coming from where the traitors to the resistance were located. The triple eight stepped out of the room first and proceeded to make its way towards the blast zone, Cameron followed close behind._

_Cameron and the machine swept the area for signs of life, most of the fighters had been killed instantly by the blast, but Cameron could hear some moans coming from further up the tunnel._

_Realizing she could learn where John might have been taken, Cameron decided to make sure the machine didn't kill anyone. "Do not terminate any survivors...we may be able to get information about John's whereabouts from them." _

_The machine nodded silently and continued down the darkened hallway until it came upon a lone figure slumped against the wall. Stooping to check for vital signs, the triple eight paused to analyze and then motioned for Cameron to come closer._

"_This one is alive."_

_Cameron knelt beside the figure and took scans of her physical form. It was female and upon closer examination, Cameron recognized her as Jesse Flores. _

_Cameron pulled out a bottle of water and splashed it on the unconscious woman's face. "Wake up!" She called out, but Jesse just moaned._

_Cameron noticed Jesse had a shrapnel wound in the rear of her torso and possibly a concussion from the blast, but she should still be able to give answers to help locate John. Again Cameron tried to awaken Jesse by first shaking her shoulders and then slapping her face, but she still got no response. Cameron changed her tactics by proceeding to place her hand over Jesse's shrapnel wound and press down hard enough to inflict pain. Instantly Jesse's eyes flicked wide open and she instinctively tried to push Cameron's hand away from the wound. Cameron kept her hand on the wound and proceeded to grasp Jesse by the throat with her other hand to ensure the woman did not try to break free._

"_Arrrgg...What the hell?!"_

"_Where is John?" Cameron calmly asked._

_Jesse instantly recognize Cameron's cold tone of voice "Fuck you...metal bitch!" She hissed._

_Cameron pressed harder on the wound, causing Jesse to cry out and struggle out of Cameron's iron grip._

"_Tell me where John is and I will stop hurting you." Cameron added more pressure to Jesse's wound with her hand, to get her point across. Her tactic worked, seconds later Jessie relented and began to disclose to Cameron where John had been taken._

_Knowing that Jesse's wound was not fatal, Cameron decided to leave Jesse where she was, but not before making sure Jesse would not warn others about her and the other machine. Cameron knocked her out by slamming the back of Jesse's head into the concrete wall, she then checked the unconscious woman's vital signs before applying a field dressing to her wound to slow the bleeding. Satisfied with her work and eager to locate John, Cameron stood up and motioned to the triple eight to continue down the damaged hallway towards the experimental wing of the resistance stronghold, the area where captured Skynet weapons and machinery were reverse engineered and where the Time Displacement Equipment had been installed._

Cameron made a quick scan of her systems. Again, everything came back as normal, but it still puzzled her how certain stimuli would prompt her to re-visit old files. Memories of her and Future John seemed to always be the most common "memories" that her subroutines brought up, when stimulated. Puzzled over her frequent relapses into her memories, Cameron barely noticed the comings and goings of small town traffic as she made her way back to her house...

**Authors Note**: The chapter was so big, I split it up ! Part 2 will be up shortly :)

I am so sorry for the delay,but life has it's ways of taking away my free time.

If you loved it, please let me know!

If you notice a problem or error, please send me a DM :)

Thank you Russ for the speedy Beta check :)

Moe


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